Tlie Rock Formation of the Bermudas. 219 



The Rock Formatiox of the Ber3iudas. 



By J. S. BccHAN, Q.C., B.C.L. 



A few preliminary remarks concerning the Bermudas 

 geneially may be of interest, and will assist in making the 

 special subject before us more clearly understood. 



The Bermudas are a cluster of islands about 350 in 

 number, many being, however, mere rocks, situated in the 

 Atlantic Ocean in Lat. 32^ 20'ISr. and Long. 74° 50' W., or, 

 to describe their position in other words, a straight line 

 700 miles long, drawn almost due south from Halifax, 

 would pass through them, while another due west, about 

 600 miles in length, would almost strike Charleston in 

 South Carolina. 



The islands lie to the south of a coral reef or atoll about 

 24 miles in length by 12 in breadth, of which the part 

 above water is the southern fringe or edge, containing in 

 all only about 19 square miles of land, and said to be, 

 with the exception of St. Helena, the most isolated body 

 of land on the globe. 



They form the only coral reef in the Central Atlantic, 

 and almost the onlv instance in which living, reef-building 

 coral is found so far to the north, the conditions being, 

 however, favorable to it, owing to the temperature of the 

 water being raised by the Gulf stream. 



The surface of the islands presents a succession of low, 

 rolling hills, vfiih valleys between them, and scarcely any 

 level ground, the highest point being Gibb's Hill, on which 

 the light-house is situated, 362 feet above sea level. The 

 soil, of a red-brown color, is only a few inches deep, but 

 very fertile. 



The islands are altogether of coral formation, which is 

 found in various stages, from the sand thrown up by the 

 waves to the stalagmite which marks the floor of some 

 ancient cave from which the roof and walls, with the hill 

 in which it was formed, have been swept away. 



