THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ITS SEAS BAYS AND GULFS The coast-line of the Atlantic Ocean is so extended by numerous indentations, as to exceed in length that of all the other oceans taken together. Nearly all its inland gulfs and bays, however, belong to its northern division—the North At land; which includes the vast expanse between the equator and the Arctic Circle. The principal branches on its eastern side are—the Baltic Sea, with the Gulfs of Finland, Bothnia, and Riga; the North Sea and the English Channel, separating Great Britain from the Continent ; the North Channel, Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel, between Great Britain and Ireland ; the Bay of Biscay, formed by the western coast of France and the northern coast of Spain ; the Mediterranean Sea, between the south of Europe and North Africa, with the Gulf of Lyons, Adriatic and .gear Seas, the Levant, and Gulfs of Sidra and Cabes ; the Black Sea, connected with the Mediterranean by the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmora, and the Dardanelles. The only considerable indentation in the West
African coast is the Gulf of Guinea, with the Bights of Benin and Biafra. Near the extremity of South Africa are the minor inlets of Table Bay and False Bay.
On the western side of the Atlantic we have Hudson Bay, with James Bay ; the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with Chaleur Bay ; the Bay of Fundy; Chesapeake Bay; Gulf of Mexico, with the Bay of Campeachy ; the Caribbean Sea, with the Bay of Honduras, the Gulfs of Columbus, Darien, Venezuela with Lake Maracaybo, and Paris. Thence the coasts of South America are, on the whole, regular and un broken, the only considerable indentations being the Estuary of the Amazon, the Rio de Para, the Bay of Bahia, the Rio de la Plata, and the Patagonian gulfs of S. Matins and S. George.