On the Gulf Stream and the Keys of Florida. 55 
4, 
a vale 
M Wy) Decommn&a e/a Poe WM” & 
ae = bene re pre ~ — wd uy, ee 
ss f Hy Me, Sy 3 — 
Bois, i pe ; g 
beset Pepe Meme eA 
.% 
5 
sve 
Fi igs, - : and 4, are ideal paper through the middle of the Pinta and Keys, 
~ along th line pp fig. 1 , repre nting the different stages of the process; // the sea 
level, Gs the Gulf Stream, ec’ a a’ a’’ sections of the lines c’/d’’ ab a’b’ a!’b’’ of 
he ship i e shoal 
water dotted over with e islands, (not here represented) and enother poof, 
a’, has formed at the limiting depth of 60 feet, is another ship ¢ el e’ be- 
tween the see! and t Keys. Fig. 4 represents the condition of things when the 
sea bottom had advanced to a! n’! 0!’, Now a, the line of Keys of the last figure, 
; me the southern coast, the a er shoal water e has become the Everglades, 
a’, the reef of last figure has become a line of Keys and its ship channel ¢’ shoal 
water, = at the e limiting depth of ¢ 60 ‘feet still another ee a’’ viz. the preser 
living ‘ree s formed with its ship channel e’’, This figure therefore represents the 
present ther of things. 
It is evident that if this theory be correct, and no insuperable 
obstacle is interposed, the Gulf Stream may continue to move its 
‘d, and the point of Florida to extend almost indefinitely. But 
such an obstacle is interposed in the island of Cuba. The Gulf 
tream cannot move much beyond its present posi 
Florida extend beyond the position of the present 3 
at the expense of Cuba and the Bahama Cuba can never 
be annexed by any natural agency, whether coral or current. 
of the Gulf aviv Beant the Same ae ‘at prese 
hat the Shinde of Florida was originally represe esented by a 
tongue of still water, substantially, the same changes would 
necessarily hay: 
€ oc 
It is eran that as the point of Florida approached the Gulf 
Stream, the slope of the bottom would become steeper, and there- 
fore the beaseng deptik would be attained at a shorter distance 
m shore, the consecutive reefs would be forméd nearer anc 
hearer to one See sped and the intervening ship channels woulc 
become n 
