The Count de Buffon remarks, That the mo|tion of the waters from east to west has dimi|nished the surface of the earth on the west side; and that, in every continent of the globe, the declivity is more rapid on the west than on the east coasts. This is evident in the continent of America, the declivities of which are extreme|ly rapid and abrupt toward the western seas; but, towards the eastern coasts, the lands stretch by a gentle declivity, and generally terminate in large plains. In Europe, the line that forms the summit of Great Britain, which runs from north to south, is much nearer the western than the eastern ocean: For the same reason, the seas to the west of Britain and Ireland are much deeper than the sea which separates Britain and Holland. The ridge of Norway is much near|er the ocean than the Baltic sea. The mountains which form the general summit of Europe are much higher toward the west than the east; and, if we take a part of this summit, from Switzerland to Siberia, it is much nearer the Baltic and White Seas, than the Black Sea and the Caspian. The Alps and Apennines are nearer the Mediterranean than the Adriatic sea. The chain of mountains which runs from Tirol to Dalmatia, and as far as the Morea, in a man|ner skirts the Adriatic sea; but the opposite coasts are much lower▪ In Asia, if we follow the chain which extends from the Dardanelles to Page  350 the strait of Babelmandel, we shall find that the summits of Mount Taurus, of Libanus, and of all Arabia, skirt the Mediterranean and the Red Seas; and that, to the east, there are vast terri|tories where the long coursed rivers run, and at last empty themselves in the Persic Gulf. The summit of the famous mountains of Gate approaches nearer to the western than the east|ern seas. The ridge which extends from the west frontiers of China to the point of Mallacca, is nearer the west than the east sea. In Africa, the chain of Mount Atlas sends rivers to the sea of the Canaries, whose courses are much shorter than those which run into the interior parts of the Continent, and, after traversing vast tracts of country, lose themselves in lakes or great marshes. The high mountains to the west of Cape Verd, and through all Guiney, after turning ro••d Congo, join the mountains of the Moon, and stretch as far as the Cape of Good Hope, occupy pretty uniformly the middle of Africa: We will perceive, however, on examining the sea to the east and west, that the sea on the east is not deep, and is interspersed with a great number of islands; whilst, to the west, it is deeper, and has but few islands; so that the deepest places of the western sea are much near|er this chain of mountains than the deepest pla|ces of the eastern or Indian seas.

Page  351 Hence we see that, in general, all the points of partition in the great continents are always nearer the west than the east seas; that the plains of these continents are always lengthened to|ward the east, and shortened toward the west; that the seas on the west coasts are deeper, and have fewer islands than those on the east; and that, in all these seas, the west coasts of the islands are always higher, and the seas which wash them deeper, than those on the east.