BERMUDA ISLANDS. 221 



The wind for three-fourths of the year is from the south- 

 east or southwest, and this may iu part account for the south- 

 east side of the atoll being highest. But this feature is probably 

 owing much to the configuration of the land upon which 

 the coral reefs were built up. The reefs along the south- 

 east and south sides are narrow, not over a fourth of a mile 

 wide, and the waters abruptly deep, and consequently we 

 may conclude that this southeastern side of the original island 

 was bold and high, while off to the north, the surface was rela- 

 tively low and flat. 



Twenty miles southwest-by-west from the Bermudas, there 

 are two submerged banks or shoals, both reported as having a 

 "corally and rocky bottom ; " one has 22 to 40 fathoms over it, 

 and the other 33 to 47 fathoms. Dredging on these banks 

 might make some interesting disclosures. 



