nærmest Færø-Banken. I Danmarkstrædet, mellem Island 
og Grønland, ligger ogsaa en Ryg omtrent midt 1 Strædet, 
paa 66° N.Br., hvor Dybden kun naar 319 Favne. Det 
europæiske Nordhav er saaledes i Dybet fuldkommen af- 
stængt fra Atlanterhavets Dyb. Kun 1 de øverste 300 
Fayne kunne disse Have udvexle sine Vandmasser.  Mer- 
kelig er den ringe Forskjel, der er paa Maximumsdybderne 
i de 3 Aabninger mellem begge Have — Færø- Shet- 
land-Renden, Fero-Island-Flakket, Danmarkstrædet: 830— 
277—319 Favne. 
Nordsøen er i det hele taget grund; i den sydlige Del 
er Dybden kun omkring 20 Favne, i den nordlige 50— 
100 Favne. Langs Norges Vestkyst, fra Bankerne uden- 
for Romsdalskysten, skjærer sig en vel afgrændset dybere 
Rende — den Norske Rende —, der fortsætter, med sin 
indre Skraaning meget nær Norges Kyst, rundt Lindesnes 
ind i Skagerak til henimod den svenske Kyst. Her i 
Skagerak har den, udenfor Arendal, sin største Dybde, 
443 Favne. Dens grundeste Del ligger udenfor Bømmelen 
paa 140 Favne. 
Imellem Shetland og Færøerne skyder Færø-Shetland- 
Renden sig mod Sydvest ned fra Nordhavets Dyb. Ren- 
dens Bund ligger paa c. 600 Favnes Dyb. Den begrænd- 
ses mod Sydvest af Wyville Thomson Ryggen. 
Under 10° W. Længde, ganske lidt søndenfor Polar- 
cirkelen, vise Lodningerne fra *Ingolf” (1879) et Indsnit 
henimod Islandsbanken. Dets Axe peger mod Hekla. 
Det europæiske Nordhavs Dyb er ved den fra Jan 
Mayen mod ENE i Retning af Beeren Hiland gaaende 
undersøiske Ryg afdelt 1 to Bassiner. Det sydlige Bassin 
svarer nærmest til det norske Hav. Dets dybeste Parti 
— Det Norske Dyb — ligger i Vest for Norge, Nordost for 
Island og Sydost for Jan Mayen. Paa 68° N. Br. og 
30 W. Længde er Dybden 'størst, over 2000 Favne. Dybets 
Axe er her meridional, men mellem Jan Mayen og Lofo- 
ten—Vesteraalen strækker sig dets umiddelbare Fortsæt- 
telse med Axen vinkelret mod den første og med betydelige 
Dybder, 1600—1800 Favne. Jeg kalder dette Parti Lofot- 
Dybet. I Vinkelen mellem Lofotdybet og Norskedybet 
skyder de norske Kystbankers Fortsættelse mod Dybet 
bastionformet frem. Mod Vest staar Grøndlandshavet gjen- 
nem Jan-Mayen-Renden, paa 1100 Favnes Dyb, mellem 
denne Ø og Island i direkte Forbindelse med Norskedybet. 
Nordenfor *Tverryggen” mellem Jan Mayen og Bee- 
ren-Hiland sænker Grønlandshavets største Dyb sig mellem 
Grønland og Spidsbergen til over 2650 Favne, hvilket 
Dyb loddedes af *Sofia” Expeditionen i 1868. Jeg kalder 
dette Dyb Svenske-Dybet. Dets vestlige Del er endnu 
ganske ubekjendt, da Havet her dækkes af Grønlandsisen, 
6 
not more than 277 fathoms beneath the surface of the sea, 
nearest the Færoe-Bank. In Denmark Strait, between 
Iceland and Greenland, also oceurs a ridge, well-nigh in 
the middle of the strait, lat. 66° N, where the depth 
reaches only 319 fathoms. Hence the North Ocean of 
Europe is cut off in its lower strata from the deeps of 
the Atlantic. In the upper 300 fathoms only is it pos- 
sible for the two to mingle their waters. Remarkable 
may be termed the shght difference in the maximum-depths 
throughout the 3 openings between the said oceans, viz., the 
Færoe-Shetland Channel, the Færoe-Iceland Flat, and Den- 
mark Strait, viz., 8330—277—319 fathoms. 
The North Sea is on the whole shallow: in its south- 
ern part the depth averages only about 20 fathoms, in 
its northern 50—100 fathoms. Along the West Coast 
of Norway, from the banks off the coast of Romsdal, 
extends a comparatively deep, well bounded channel — 
the Norwegian Channel — which passes on, with its imner 
declivity very near the Norwegian Coast, round Lindes- 
nes (the Naze) into the Skagerak, nearly reaching the 
coast of Sweden. Here, in the Skagerak, off Arendal, the 
channel attains its greatest depth — 443 fathoms. Its 
shallowest part lies off Bommelen — 140 fathoms. 
Between Shetland and the Færoes, the Færoe-Shetland 
Channel strikes towards the south-west from the 
deeps of the North Ocean. , The bottom of the channel 
lies at a depth of about 600 fathoms. On the south-west, 
it is bounded by the Wyville-Thomson Ridge. 
In long. 10° W, a very little south of the Polar 
Circle, the soundings taken on board the *Ingolf” (1879) 
show an incision in the direction of the Iceland Bank. 
Its axis points towards Hekla. 
The deeps of the North Ocean of Europe are di- 
vided into two basins by the ridge extending ENE from 
Jan Mayen in the direction of Beeren Eiland. The south- 
ern basin approximates closest the Norwegian Sea. Its 
deepest part — the Norway-Deep — lies west of Norway, 
north-west of Iceland, and south-east of Jan Mayen. In 
lat. 68° N and long 3° W the depth is greatest — more 
than 2000 fathoms. The axis of the deep is meridional; 
but between Jan Mayen and Lofoten—Vesteraalen its direct 
continuation extends onward, with the axis at right angles 
to the former, and having very considerable depths — 
1600 to 1800 fathoms. I have called this part the 
* Lofoten-Deep.” In the angle between the Lofoten-Deep 
and the Norway-Deep, the continuation of the Norwegian 
coastal banks extends, bastion-like, towards the deep. To 
the west we have the Greenland Sea, passing through 
the Jan-Mayen Channel, at a depth of 1100 fathoms, be- 
tween Jan Mayen and Iceland, in direct communication 
with the Norway-Deep. 
North of the “Transverse Ridge,” between Jan Mayen 
and Beeren Eiland, the greatest depth of the Greenland 
Sea, between Greenland and Spitzbergen, is upwards of 
2650 fathoms, a depth sounded on the *Sofia” Hxpe- 
dition, in 1868. This deep I shall call the “Swedish Deep.” 
Its western part is still wholly unknown, the sea being 
down 
