This alone, independent of the other proofs we have given, would be sufficient to evince that the earth of our continent and islands have been covered with waters of the ocean, and doubtless throws great light upon the Theory which I have endeavoured to prove well founded; for it was not sufficient to have proved that the strata of the earth were formed by the sediments of the sea; that the mountains were elevated by the successive accumulation of such sediments; and that they were composed of shells and other marine productions; but it required also a reason why the angles of mountains so exactly correspond; this could only be done by an investigation into the real cause, which had not hitherto been attempted, and which, being united with the rest, forms a body of proofs as complete as may be had in physics, and establishes my Theory to be founded on facts, independent of all hypothesis. The principal currents of the ocean are those observed in the Atlantic Sea, near Guinea. They extend from Cape Verd to the Bay of Fernandes. Their motion is from west to east; that is contrary to the general motion of the sea. These currents are so rapid that vessels sail in two days from Moura to Rio de Benin, a course of 150 leagues; but they require six or seven weeks to return; nor would it be possible to get out of these climates if advantage was not taken of the tempestuous winds which suddenly rise in them; but there are entire seasons during which vessels cannot stir, the sea being continually calm, excepting what arises from the currents, which is always directed towards the coasts, and never extend more than 20 leagues from shore. Near Sumatra there are rapid currents, which flow from south to north, and which probably formed the gulph at Malacca. There are also considerable currents between Java and Magellan, the Cape of Good Hope, and the island of Madagascar, especially on the coast of Africa, between Natal and the Cape. In the Pacific Sea, on the coast of Peru, and the rest of America, the sea moves from south to north, and a south wind continually blowing there seems to be the cause. The like motion is observed on the coasts of Brazil; from Cape St. Augustine to the Antilles; from the mouth of the Manilla strait to the Philippine islands; and in the port of Kubuxiu at Japan[D]. [D] See Varen. Geography, page 140. There are violent currents in the sea adjacent to the Maldivian islands; and between those islands these currents flow, as already observed, constantly for six months from east to west, and during the other six months they follow the direction of the monsoons, and it is probable they are produced by those winds.