THALASSOLOGICAL NOTES ON THE NORTH SEA, 325 



Opposite the sliores of Jutland the plateau lies -within 30 

 fathoms of the surface of the water, gradually becoming 

 lower, until we reach Lat. 58"^ N., Long. 5^ E. Between the 

 two lines of 100 fathom isobaths thus described there is a 

 conspicuous channel of very marked depth, which might be 

 termed, for the sake of clearness, the Palasoscandinavian 

 channel, at first 20 miles wide in its southern portion, and 

 40 miles across in its northern, but in its entire length into 

 the Atlantic approximately parallel to the coast of Norway. 



It will be advisable to conmience the study of the configura- 

 tion of the bed of this channel still farther to the east, 

 apparently where it originated. 



Cattefjat. — Doubtless the great danger this passage pre- 

 sents to shipping is owing to the fact that llie depth of 

 the sea between Marstrand, in Sweden, and the northern- 

 most point of Jutland, in Denmark, as well as for 60 miles, 

 at least, farther upwards, nowliere reaches 60 fathoms, and 

 is in general only half that amount. 



Skagcrak {Skager Back). — A transverse section of this sea. 

 betAveen the entrance to the Christiania f^jord and Jutland 

 already shows 165 fathoms in mid-channel; that between 

 Kragero and Jutland 355 fathoms ; that between Arendal and 

 Jutland — which is precisely in p]-olongation of the axis of 

 the Norwegian mountain chain — 430 fathoms, its maximmn 

 depth. Between Christiansand and Jutland it is 328 fathom.s; 

 also from Christiansand due south, towards the western coast 

 of Denmark, the depth is 330 fathoms; off Farsund the depth 

 is reduced to 235 fathoms. Broadly speaking the deepest 

 part of this Palseoscandinavian channel is one-third of the 

 distance from the Norwegian mountainous coast towards the 

 flatter shores of Denmark. 



North 6'm.— Between Lat. o8° N.,Long. 5° E., and Lat. 61° 

 N., the former coast line of the British plateau, or Palseobri- 

 tannia, is pretty uniformly marked by a definite incline, with 

 soundings of 70 fathoms at its summit and ] 50 fathoms at 

 its base. Off the Danish coast the inclined plane bounding 

 the channel is very gentle, becoming gradually steeper as 

 we proceed westward. But whatever be the inclination, 

 the base still continues to nmrk xclth considerable regularity 150 

 fathoms. To the Avest of NorAvay the mid-chamiel rarely 

 exceeds a normal depth of 160 fathoms; a fcAv soundings at 

 the northern extremity mark 200 fathoms, and in some local 

 instances even 231 fathoms. Between the parallels of 60° 

 30' and 61° 30' the soundings across the channel A^ary but 



