CHALLENGER EXPEDITION. A scien tific of the open sea sent out by the British Government in 1872-76. In 1S72 the chaifengcr, a corvette of 2306 tons, was com pletely fitted out and furnished with every scien tific appliance for examining the sea from surface to bottom, e.g. with natural - history workroom, chemical laboratory, and mplarium. The ship was placed in charge of a naval survey ing staff under Captain Narcs and of a scien tific staff, with Prof. IVyville Thomson (q.v.) at their head, for the purpose of sounding the depths. mapping the basins, and determining the physical and biological conditions of the Atlan tic, the Southern, and the Pacific Oceans. During three and a half years the Challenger cruised over 68,900 nautical miles. Investigations were made at 362 stations, at each of which were determined the depth of channel, the bottom, surface, and intermediate temperatures, currents, and fauna, and the atmospheric and meteorologi cal conditions. The route was by Madeira, the
Canaries, the \Vest Indies, Nova Scotia, Ber mudas, Azores. Cape Verde, Fernando Noronha, Bahia, Tristan d'Acunha, Cape of Good hope, Kerguelen, Melbourne, the Chinese Sea, Ilong Kong, Japan, Valparaiso. Straits of Magellan, Montevideo, Vigo, and Portsmouth. Between the Admiralty Islands and Japan the Challenger made her deepest sounding, 4575 fathoms. Con sult Wyville Thomson and Dr. John Murray, edi tors of the copious Reports on the Scientific Re sults of the Voyage of II. H. S. Challenger (50 oohs.. London, 1880-95). They fall into a Nar rative (2 vols., 1S82-85) ; ZoiVogy (30 vols., 1880-89) : Physics and Chemistry (3 robs., 1884 ,89) ; Botany (18S5-86). A popular narrative of the cruise is Moseley's A Naturalist on the Challenger (London, 1879).