574. The deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean.—The greatest depths at which the bottom of the sea has been reached with the plummet are in the North Atlantic Ocean, and the places where it has been fathomed do not show it to be deeper than twenty-five thousand feet. The deepest place in this ocean (Plate XI.) is probably between the parallels of 35° and 40° north latitude, and immediately to the southward of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The first specimens have been received from the coral sea of the Indian Archipelago and from the North Pacific. They were collected by the surveying expedition employed in those seas. A few soundings have been made in the South Atlantic, but not enough to justify deduction as to its depths or the precise shape of its floor.
575. Deep-sea soundings by the English navy.—The friends of physical research at sea are under obligations to the officers
