52 A. &. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 464 
common as a fossil in the eolian limestone all over the islands, even 
on the highest hills, and is often seen loose, where the soft rock has 
decayed. More often it may be seen carried about on the backs of 
the large land hermit-crabs, whose ancestors, many thousands of 
years ago, carried these same shells inland from the shores to the 
ancient sand hills. (See chapter on Geology and figure.) But this 
occurrence of the broken shells in the kitchen refuse, would indicate 
that this West Indian “ Whelk” was living in these waters in 1812, 
(See Part III, ch. 32, and ch. 46, Geology.) 
Figure 22a.—The Land Hermit-crab (Cenobita diogenes) carrying fossil marine 
shell (Livona) on its back. 
Part I1.—Physiography, including Meteorology, etc. 
1.— Geographical Position. 
The dry land of the Bermudas is mostly included between N. Lat. 
32° 15’ and 32° 23’ and W. Long. 64° 39’ and 64° 53’. But the reef 
areas extend between 32° 12’ and 32° 30’, N. Lat. ; and between 
64° 34’ and 65° 02’ W. Long. 
These islands are remarkable for their isolation from any other 
lands, and the depth of the ocean around them. 
I am indebted to Professor 8. L. Penfield for the following mea- 
surements of distances on the maps made according to his new 
method of stereographic projection. They are believed to be much 
more accurate than those hitherto given : 
Bermuda to New York, 675 nautical miles. 
. Cape Hatteras, 575 iy a 
a Martha’s Vineyard, 615 He at 
it Cape Cod, 620 sf se 
Cape Sable, N. S., 675 ae ne 
ate Great Abaca Is., Bahamas, 715 ie ue 
at Porto Rico, 830 * os 
