ANNUAL REPORT-EARLY INVESTIGATIONS. 
59 
“The contour of the ridge surrounding the ‘Everglades/ taken 
together with the structure of the rock of which it is composed, 
and imbedded organic remains, leads very strongly to the con¬ 
clusion that it once occupied a position similar to that now 
occupied by the Keys. And it is evident that an elevation of 
the Keys of about ten or twenty feet would produce a similar 
ridge, shutting out the sea from the space, at present, between 
the reef and the mainland, and producing a second ‘Ever¬ 
glade,’ differing from the present only in its greater compara¬ 
tive length.” 
A paper by Agassiz on the “Florida Reefs, Keys and 
Coast” appeared in 1852, (6). The Florida Keys were 
examined and described by him in considerable detail. 
Agassiz expresses the view that the growth of the keys 
above the surface of the water is due solely to materials 
accumulated as a result of the action of the wind and 
waves. He states (p, 153) : 
“That part of the Keys which rises above the level of the 
water is, therefore, a sub-aerial and not a submarine accumu¬ 
lation of floating matter, thrown above high-water mark by 
the tempestuous action of the water. We insist upon the fact, 
that the Keys furnish in themselves, by the internal structure 
of their rock, the fullest evidence that they have been formed 
above high-water mark by the action of gales and hurricanes, 
instead of having grown as a reef up to the water level, and 
been subseqently raised to their present height. The evidence 
of this statement rests upon certain facts obtained from obser¬ 
vation of the reef itself, at Sand Key and the Sambos.” 
On this point Agassiz’s views are thus in opposition to 
the previously expressed views of Conrad and Tuomey. 
After having examined the Keys, Professor Agassiz exam¬ 
ined the rocks along the mainland. These he found to 
be of the same structure as # the rocks of the Keys. He 
states on page 156 that: 
Along all that part of the shore which was examined, as 
well as upon the shores of the Miami, we found everywhere 
the same coarse, oolitic rock, with cross-stratification, consist¬ 
ing of thin beds, dipping at various angles in different direc¬ 
tions, precisely as we find it at the western extremity of Key 
