In many respects the North Pacific ocean resembles the North Atlantic.
A great warm current, much like the Gulf Stream, and of equal
magnitude, called the Black Stream, or Japan current, runs northward
along the eastern shore of Asia. Close to the east coast of Japan it
flows through a marine valley which holds the deepest water in the
world. It was sounded at a depth of 5¼ miles by the United States
steamer Tuscaroa in 1875, while surveying for a projected cable route
between the United States and Japan. The heavy sounding weight took
more than an hour to sink to the bottom. But trial was made of a chasm
yet more profound, where the lead did not fetch it up at all. It is the
only depth of ocean that remains unfathomed.--_San Francisco Examiner._
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At the head of Onion Valley, in Inyo County, Cal., are two abrupt
mountains, one 13,000 and the other 14,000 feet high. Tumbling down
the side of one is a cataract 500 feet high, which in the distance
resembles falling snow, and two other waterfalls of equal height are
visible from the head of the valley.