THE ARCTIC OCEAN
A CIRCLE round the Earth at 1600 miles from the North Pole as a centre is called the Arctic Circle . All the land and sea within the Arctic Circle form what we call the North Frigid Zone . Very little is known regarding the region round the North Pole; but recent discoveries lead us to believe that it is surrounded by a vast open sea, forming the Arctic Ocean.
The lands around the Arctic Ocean form a vast treeless waste, exposed to the cold winds which sweep over it from the Polar Seas.
This dreary, desolate region, covers a space larger than the whole of Europe. It extends over the north or Europe, Asia, and America, round the globe,In the Polar regions, the sun is one half of the year above and the other half below the horizon. There is but one long, dreary night, of six months. But the gloom of the Arctic winter is often relieved by the magnificent spectacle of the Aurora Borealis, which shines in these northern regions with a brilliancy unknown in other lands.
In Europe, the north of Norway is within the Arctic Circle; but here the climate is milder, owing to the influence of the warmer waters of the Atlantic, and of the prevailing south-westerly winds. Lapland and a small part of Russia are also within the Arctic Circle.
The north of Asia lies within the Arctic Circle. Here three mighty rivers-the Obi , the Lena , and the Yenisei -pour their waters into the Arctic Ocean. These rivers flow through the dreary plains of Northern Siberia; and, as they come from a warmer to a colder region, they become more and more clogged with ice as they approach the ocean. At last they overflow their banks, and convert the regions around them into a vast dismal swamp, making the northern part of Asia a barren, desolate waste. There is no pasture for cattle, as in Norway and Sweden, and even the hardiest grains cannot grow on these desolate shores.
The Arctic portion of North America is covered with snow and ice nearly the whole year. Here another of the giant rivers of the Earth (the Mackenzie River ) discharges its waters into the Arctic Ocean, after a course of above 1200 miles.
In winter an awful silence reigns over this vast region, as scarcely a living thing remains when the Arctic summer has ended; but in spring enormous flights of birds come from the south, and find abundance of food in the lakes and rivers, and along the fish-teeming coasts. In some places these flocks of birds are so numerous, that they may be said to darken the sun when they fly, and to hide the sea when they swim. But as soon as the first frosts announce the approach of winter, nearly all the animals of these dreary regions hasten to the south.
The ARCTIC OCEAN forms a circle bounded by the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America. It is studded with islands, most of which lie along the northern coasts of America, and form a vast archipelago to the west or Greenland.
For more than three centuries, successive generations of brave and skilful navigators tried to discover a north-west passage to the Pacific through this region of ice. Of all the great enterprises of the world, not one has been so enthusiastically taken up, so ably and resolutely prosecuted, and so tardily accomplished. When at length the secret was won, the victor perished in the hour of triumph. The North-West Passage was discovered by Sir John Franklin in 1847, but not until the autumn of 1859 did the news reach England. Franklin died in 1847, and his gallant company of one hundred and thirty-four tried men all perished in those dark Arctic regions.
The largest island in the Arctic Ocean is Greenland . Its northern stores have never been reached, but enough of its coasts has been explored to show that it is an island about ten times the size of the British Isles. The west coast of Greenland is mountainous, and its valleys are blocked up with glaciers .
A glacier is a river of ice. Though it does not seem to move, yet it slowly forces its way down the valley till it reaches the sea. As it pushes its way further and further into the sea, the projecting part begins to float, and the rising tide breaks it off in huge fragments. These glacier fragments are the icebergs which are found floating in the Arctic seas. They are of various sizes. Some of them measure only a few yards; others are miles in circumference, and sometimes hundreds of feet high. One of the sublimest spectacles that can be seen in the Arctic seas is a fleet of icebergs lighted up with the glories of the setting sun.
Many of these icebergs, formed from the glaciers of Greenland, float far away into the Atlantic, where they slowly melt as they drift towards the south.
Besides the islands on the northern coasts of America. there are, further east, Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla . Spitzbergen lies midway between Norway and the North Pole. Nova Zembla forms a group of islands lying to the north of Russia.
It is an interesting fact that at some parts the water of the Arctic Ocean is warmer below than at the surface. This is owing to the circumstance that the warmer waters of the Atlantic are constantly flowing in, while cold currents are constantly flowing out. At the surface intense cold prevails, while the water remains warm below. The severity of the Polar winter is thus unfelt beneath, and myriads of creatures find a secure retreat against the frost which reigns supreme above. They form the food of the whale, the walrus, and other creatures which abound in the Northern seas.
Though ice covers the sea for many hundreds of miles, there are always immense spaces of open water, where the whale, the walrus, and the seal are found. Without such open spaces these creatures could not exist; for they are warm-blooded animals, and constantly require to come to this surface to breathe.
THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN
A circle of 1600 miles round the South Pole as a centre is called the Antarctic Circle . All the land and sea within this circle form the South Frigid Zone . It is in extent exactly similar to the North Frigid Zone. The ocean within it is called the ANTARCTIC OCEAN. Very little is known about this part of the Earth"s surface. It is a region of ice and snow.
Land has been discovered at various points, but it is even more desolate and barren than the lands of the Arctic regions. No human being, no land quadruped has been found; no plant of any kind, not even a moss or a lichen, has been seen-all is one dreary, uninhabitable waste. But though neither quadruped nor plant has been found on the land, there are innumerable sea-birds ; and the whale , the dolphin , and the seal abound in the sea.
Many suppose that there is a vast continent in this part of the globe, occupying a large portion of the Antarctic regions. Sir James Ross, in an expedition to the Antarctic Ocean, made some interesting discoveries.
He saw a lofty mountain-chain stretching away to the South Pole. It contained several volcanoes, one of which he called Mount Erebus, from the name of his ship. This mountain, towering up in a region of snow and ice, rose to a height of 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. It was seen only from a great distance, as an impenetrable barrier of ice prevented the ship from approaching the land.
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
The ATLANTIC OCEAN lies between the Old World and the New. On the one side are Europe and Africa , on the other side North and South America . The waters of the Atlantic extend from Greenland to the southern extremities of Africa and South America, a distance of about 9000 miles. At the north it unites with the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and Greenland. At the south it joins the Pacific, the Indian, and the Antarctic Oceans.
The Atlantic Ocean exceeds all the other oceans in the number of its seas and gulfs.
PRINCIPAL SEAS-EAST
The principal Seas on the eastern side of the Atlantic are the North Sea , the Baltic Sea , and the Mediterranean with the Black Sea .
1.The NORTH SEA is about 600 miles from north to south. Its width varies from 100 to 400 miles.
From the mouth of the Thames to Holland it is 100 miles wide, and in this part it is comparatively shallow, and beset with sand-banks. Near the mouth of the Thames are the celebrated Goodwin Sands , a dangerous range of shoals. Floating lights have long been fixed here, and some lofty beacons erected; still this part of the coast is the scene of numerous shipwrecks every year. It has been more fatal to life and property than any other part of the coast of England. Sand-banks also stretch all along the coast of Holland.
Between Scotland and Denmark the North Sea is 400 miles wide. Between Scotland and Norway , it is 300 miles wide, and of great depth near Norway.
The parts of the Continent opposite Britain are:-NORWAY (South part )....... opposite..........................North of SCOTLAND. DENMARK..........................opposite..........................SCOTLAND.
HOLLAND...................... opposite..........................ENGLAND. BELGIUMFRANCE.............................opposite..........................South of ENGLAND.
The principal Seaports on the Continent, opposite Britain, are:-Rotterdam.......................opposite..........................London.
Amsterdam..................... opposite..........................Yarmouth.
Hamburg.........................opposite..........................Hull.
Bergen (Norway)............opposite ..........................Shetland Isles.
In ancient times the North Sea was the scene of the exploits of the Scandinavian sea-kings, and across its waters sailed the various tribes that successively landed on the coasts of Britain and settled in the British Islands after the breaking up of the Roman Empire.
The Angles came from the south of Denmark, and the Saxons from Northern Germany, about A. D. 449. The Danes came from Denmark,A.D. 787.
These tribes gradually drove back the original Celtic inhabitants; whose descendants, however, to this day occupy a considerable portion of the British Islands. The inhabitants of Wales, Ireland, and the Highlands of Scotland, are chiefly of Celtic origin.
At a later period (A. D. 1066), the Normans -who, like the Danes, were originally Norsemen-came from the north of France across the English Channel , and conquered England.
2.The BALTIC SEA lies between the Baltic States and Sweden. It is a long narrow sea with several branches. Its northern half is called the Gulf of Bothnia . Its other branches are the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga .
It is mostly very shallow, and subject to severe storms. A number of large rivers flow into it, and make its waters comparatively fresh.
The Countries on the shores of the Baltic are:-ESTHONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, EAST PRUSSIA, DENMARK, and SWEDEN. A large trade is carried on between Britain and these countries. The chief articles received from them are timber, wheat, flax, hemp, tallow, and hides .
The entrance to the Baltic from the North Sea is called the Skager Rack on the one side of Jutland, and the Cattegat on the other.
3.The MEDITERRANEAN SEA is, in some respects, the most interesting sea in the world. From the earliest days to the present time its shores have been the scene of many of the greatest events of history. It was the great highway of commerce among the civilized nations of ancient times. On its coasts lay ancient GREECE, ITALY, CARTHAGE, EGYPT, PH?NICIA, and PALESTINE.
The entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic is by the Straitof Gibraltar , 11 miles wide at its narrowest part. From this point to the coast of Syria the Mediterranean is nearly 2500 miles long.
The heat on the shores of the Mediterranean is very great, and the evaporation over so large a surface of water land-locked on all sides is enormous. Though many large rivers flow into it, they are not sufficient to make up the loss caused by evaporation. A strong current therefore is found to flow into it from the Atlantic at the Strait of Gibraltar, which is only partially reduced by an under-current outwards at the same place. The Mediterranean is almost a "tideless sea;" but at some places the tide rises several inches.
The principal branches of the Mediterranean are, the Adriatic Sea , between Italy and Yugo-Slavia; and the Archipelago or ?gean Sea , between Greece and Asia Minor. The eastern portion of the Mediterranean is called the Levant . On the south of France is the Gulf of Lions , and at the north of Italy is the Gulf of Genoa .
The principal Rivers which flow into the Mediterranean are the Rhone , from France;the Po , from Italy; and the Nile , from Egypt. Besides these, the waters of the Danube , the Dnieper , and the Don , come to the Mediterranean from the Black Sea by the Sea of Marmora.
The Countries on the shores of the Mediterranean are:-SPAIN................................opposite ....................................MOROCCO.
FRANCE.............................opposite ....................................ALGERIA.
ITALY................................opposite ....................................TUNIS.
GREECE.............................opposite ....................................TRIPOLI.
ASIA MINOR........................opposite ....................................EGYPT.
Syria and Palestine form the eastern shore of the Mediterranean .
The principal Islands in the Mediterranean are, Corsica, Sardinia , Sicily, Crete, and Cyprus . Besides these, there is a large number of smaller islands; one of which, Malta , to the south of Sicily, belongs to Britain. It lies about midway between Gibraltar and Egypt.
The Mediterranean is separated from the Red Sea by the narrowIsthmus of Suez . A great ship-canal across the isthmus was, after tenyears of labour, constructed by a French engineer named Lesseps. The waters of the two seas are united, and ships can now sail from Europe to India, China, Australia, &c., without having to pass either round the south of Africa or round Cape Horn.
4.The BLACK SEA lies between Russia and Turkey-in-Asia. It is connected with the Mediterranean by the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmora, and the Dardanelles.
On the north of the Black Sea is the Crimea , a peninsula of Russia, famous for the siege of Sebastopol , the chief city of the Crimea, and, at the time of the war (1854-56), a great naval station of Russia.
At the entrance to the Black Sea is the Golden Horn, on which stands the city of Constantinople, the former capital of the Turkish Empire.
Three great Rivers flow into the Black Sea: the Danube , through Austria, Hungary, Yugo-Slavia, Romania, and Bulgaria; and the Dnieper and the Don (into the Sea of Azov), from Russia.
The Countries on the shores of the Black Sea are:-RUSSIA, ROMANIA, BULGARIA, TURKEY, ARMENIA, and GEORGIA.
Large quantities of wheat, grown in the south of Russia and in thecountries of the Danube , are exported by way of the Black Sea.
PRINCIPAL SEAS-WEST
The principal Seas on the western side of the Atlantic are Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.
1.DAVIS STRAIT and BAFFIN BAY (named after two great English navigators, who discovered them) lie between Greenland and the northern coasts of America. Through these seas nearly all the expeditions to the Polar regions have passed. Baffin Bay is now the principal resort of the whaling ships in the North Atlantic.
By Smith Sound , to the north of Baffin Bay, many explorers attempted to reach the Pole. Here, in 1854, were discovered the shores of an open sea free of ice, stretching away to the Pole. By the same route the Pole itself was reached by Commander Peary in 1909.
2.HUDSON BAY is named from the celebrated Henry Hudson, one of the boldest and most successful of the early English navigators. Itwas discovered by him in 1609, and hero that brave seaman perished. A mutiny broke out among his men, and he and several sick sailors were put into a small boat and cast adrift. The carpenter of the ship alone refused to remain with the mutineers, nobly preferring to share the fate of his brave commander. The boat was never seen or heard of more.
Hudson Bay forms a vast inland sea in the very heart of BritishAmerica. Its shores are covered with ice for the greater part of the year. The principal entrance from the Atlantic is called Hudson Strait.
3.The GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE is one of the most important inlets on the coasts of America. It is a wide bay lying between the Island of Newfoundland and Canada. At its western extremity is the mouth of the River St. Lawrence, the great river of Canada. During summer, steamers and vessels of all kinds are constantly crossing the gulf on their way to Quebec and Montreal, or from the St. Lawrence to Europe. In winter, owing to the ice, the navigation is closed. The fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are very extensive and valuable.
On the coast, to the south of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is a long narrow inlet called the Bay of Fundy, remarkable for the great height and violence of its tides. These usually rise to a height of sixty or seventy feet, and are caused by the vast flow of water from the Atlantic forcing itself into so narrow a channel.
4.The GULF OF MEXICO lies between Mexico and the United States. It is an immense sea, nearly 1000 miles long, and about 500 miles broad.
Into it flow the waters of the Mississippi , and many other smaller rivers from the United States and Mexico.
It gives its name to the celebrated Gulf Stream, the most remarkable ocean current in the world.
The Gulf Stream is a current of warm water which flows into the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico. Its water, heated under the burning sun of the tropics, first flows from the Atlantic along the northern shores of South America. It then enters the Caribbean Sea, and from it flows into the Gulf of Mexico: hence the name Gulf Stream. There, hemmed in, it sweeps round the gulf and rushes with great force through the Strait of Florida back into the Atlantic.
Its course is so well marked, that at some places the bow of a ship may be in the Gulf Stream and the rest of the vessel out of it. This has been shown by noticing the difference between the temperature of the water at the bow of the vessel and that amidships. From Florida itflows northward to Newfoundland, gradually increasing in width. From Newfoundland its waters spread over the surface of the colder waters of the Atlantic, one branch turning southward, and another eastward. The southern branch encircles a great space called the Sargasso Sea, which is covered for hundreds of miles with thick sea-weed. The eastern branch slowly crosses the Atlantic to the shores of Europe.
The air over the Gulf Stream is loaded with warmth and moisture, and makes the climate of the British Islands much milder than it otherwise would be. On the opposite side of the Atlantic lies the coast of Labrador-a region of ice and snow. Were it not for the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the harbours and rivers of Britain would be blocked up with ice for a great part of the year. The influence of the Gulf Stream is felt as far as the north of Norway, where it mingles with the icy waters of the Polar Seas.
5.The CARIBBEAN SEA lies south of the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected with it. The two together form the great opening between North and South America.
BED OF THE ATLANTIC
The depths of the Atlantic have been sounded and surveyed by the British and the American navies, so that we now know, to a considerable extent, the character of its bed or bottom. Its greatest depth is about six miles. One result of these measurements is the certain knowledge we now possess that the bed of the ocean, like the land, is diversified by mountains and valleys, hills, table-lands, and plains.
Between Newfoundland and Ireland the bed of the Atlantic is remarkably level. Here, in the still waters at the bottom, lie the Atlantic Cables , by which messages are ever flashing across the ocean from one hemisphere to another.
The Atlantic contains few Islands compared with the vast number in the Pacific Ocean. The principal islands in the Atlantic are Iceland, the British Islands, Newfoundland, and the West India Islands.
South America extends further south than Africa, so that there is no land opposite Patagonia on its eastern side.
The Atlantic is the great highway of commerce. On its waters are constantly sailing the ships of all the maritime nations of the Earth.
To the coasts of Greenland and Labrador ships sail to hunt the whaleand the seal ; and they return laden with oil, whalebone , and sealskin .
From Canada and the other British provinces ships cross the Atlantic with timber, wheat, flour, furs, and other productions.
From the United States come cotton, wheat, tobacco, rice, flour, &c. From the West Indies we get sugar, coffee, pepper, &c.
From Honduras we get mahogany and other valuable woods, and dyes. From Brazil we get coffee, india-rubber, hides, silver, and diamonds . From the coast of Africa we get ivory, palm-oil, wool, and gums .
It is also by the Atlantic that ships come laden with cotton from India, tea and silk from China, wool and gold from Australia.
In a voyage from England to India, China, or Australia, ships sail down the Atlantic, then round Africa by the Cape of Good Hope , and across the Indian Ocean. This is one route, though most of the traffic now passes through the Suez Canal; but ships can also reach Australia by sailing to the west and passing through the Panama Canal . For sailing ships the route by the Cape of Good Hope was generally preferred, as in this region the winds blow chiefly from the west. But in the voyage from Australia it was usual to return by Cape Horn. It thus appears that a ship going from Britain to Australia by the Cape of Good Hope, and returning by Cape Horn, made a voyage round the world. The first voyage round the world was made by Magellan, a Portuguese navigator, in 1519-1521.
THE PACIFIC OCEAN
The PACIFIC is the largest of all the oceans. It is larger than the whole land surface of the globe, so that all the continents and islands of the world could lie within it.
The Pacific also forms one-half of the water-surface of the Earth, allthe other oceans together being only about equal in extent to this great ocean. Its length from north to south is about 9000 miles. Its greatest breadth (from South America to China ) is about 12,000 miles.
At the north , a very narrow channel, called Behring Strait , connects it with the Arctic Ocean. At the south , a vast expanse of water extends from Cape Horn to Australia .
In the middle of the Pacific lie thousands of Islands, of all forms and sizes, known by the general name of Polynesia , a word signifying "many islands." These islands, with some lying equally to the Indian and the Pacific Ocean, but assigned to the larger ocean, the Pacific, form part of the sixth division of the Earth"s surface, called OCEANIA.
THE INDIAN OCEAN
The INDIAN OCEAN extends from Africa to Australia, and is bounded on the north by India and Arabia. It is about 6000 miles long and 6000 mires broad. At the south its waters unite with those of the Antarctic Ocean.
Its two principal branches are, the Bay of Bengal , to the east of India; and the Arabian Sea , with its two arms, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf .
The Indian Ocean is one of the regions of the globe frequently visited by cyclones , or circular hurricanes. These storms (in the Chinese seas called typhoons ) are often very destructive to ships.
The principal Islands in the Indian Ocean are: Madagascar , near Africa; Ceylon , to the south of India; Sumatra and Java , and a large chain of islands, in the Eastern Archipelago.