FJORDS OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA. 115 



ing the western end of tlie dec}). Interpretinti; it as originally a level 

 valley, Bartlett deep may not indicate a ocneval elevation of the adjacent 

 lands to the amount of the subsidence, which here was i)robably ampli- 

 fied in the foldings of this mountain region. Of the same character is 

 the depression between the Virgin islands and the nearest of the Wind- 

 ward ridge (Santa Cruz), where the depth is 15,000 feet, although the 

 outlet to the basin is not known to exceed 10,000 feet. It seems probable 

 that both these depressions are submerged valle3\s, and that the epeiro- 

 genic movements of the region have not been obliterated by the orogenic, 

 since all of these remarkable deeps have great tributary fjords, of the 

 ordinary type, which are known to descend to considerable de])ths. 



The Caribbean sea is essentially a basin, but it receives numerous 

 short tributary canyons. That from the gulf of Paria (a mouth of the 

 Orinoco) is very noticeable, extending as it does to a depth of 1 2,000 feet. 

 Between South America and Granada the Windward ridge is depressed 

 to 2,526 feet. North of the Grenadines the sea is less than 1,600 feet, 

 with a westward bound channel recognizable in the present soundings 

 to 3,600. Between Saint Vincent and Saint Lucia the sea is reduced to 

 a depth of less than 3,000 feet, with apparent fjords increasing to over 

 6,000 feet towards the west. North of Saint Lucia the submergence has de- 

 pressed the ridge to 3,500 feet, but with drowned valleys noted to 6,000 

 feet, westward bound. North of Martinique the ridge is 4,000 feet below 

 the surface, with westward opening valleys shown to a depth of 6,000 

 feet. North of Dominica the depth is 3,300 feet, with a westward drainage. 

 Be3^ond Guadeloupe the ridge is submerged to 2,400 feet, with drainage 

 in both directions. Beyond these small islands there is the great deep 

 of the Virgin group noted before. It is apparent in the hydrography^, 

 from South America, that the Windward ridge extends and forms a sejj- 

 arating barrier between the Atlantic and Caribbean sea, nowhere lower 

 than between 1,600 and 4,000 feet below tide-level, with the valleys gen- 

 erally declining westward. The eastern side of the ridge descends rap- 

 idly to the Atlantic, with relatively short valleys strongly suggesting 

 subaerial sculpture. 



The recent submergence is further marked by the depth of the Orinoco, 

 which reaches to 3G0 feet below tide level at points 400 feet from its 

 mouth. 



South of Haiti and of Jamaica the fjords are apparent in the l^ays. 

 Tlius Morant bay, the Saint Lucia and the Moscjuito cove deepen rap- 

 idly to 600 feet or more, while the depressed coast is not Hooded to a 

 greater depth than (30 feet. The valley of Savannah la Mar is nearly 

 2,0<)0 feet deep, yet the coastal shelf is not more than 600 feet below the 

 surface; nor do we need to go to land-locked l)ays fur drowned chan- 



