The Sea and Its Living Wonders A Popular Account of the Marvels of the Deep and of the Progress of Martime Discovery from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time

CHAPTER I.

Chapter 1101 wordsPublic domain

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SEA.

Extent of the Ocean.--Length of its Coast-Line.--Mural, Rocky, and Flat Coasts.--How deep is the Sea?--Average Depth of the Atlantic Ocean.--The Telegraphic Plateau between Newfoundland and Ireland.--Measurement of Depth by the Rapidity of the Tide-Wave. --Progressive Changes in the Limits of the Ocean.--Alluvial Deposits.--Upheaving.--Subsidence.--Does the Level of the Sea remain unchanged, and is it everywhere the same?--Composition and Temperature of Sea-Water.--Its intrinsic Colour.--The Azure Grotto at Capri.--Modification of Colour owing to Animals and Plants. --Submarine Landscapes viewed through the Clear Waters Page 3