Between 1945 and 1950 workers on the ATLANTIS made several sounding profiles east of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Each crossed the precipitous Blake Escarpment. It was quite clear that no sediment could be accumulating on such a steep escarpment and that beds of ancient sediments and perhaps crystalline rocks must outcrop on the escarpment. In 1949 and 1950 a few cores were taken on the escarpment which encountered Miocene and Eocene sediments in depths of 500-800 fathoms (Ericson, Ewing, and Heezen, 1952). The marked similarity of all topographic profiles further supported the view that the escarpment was formed by the outcrop of an orderly sequence of horizontal sedimentary rock layers. With this specific problem in mind a cruise was made to the Blake-Bahama area on the research vessel ATLANTIS, in 1951. More than 50 cores were obtained. Sediments of Recent to Upper Cretaceous age were obtained on the Blake Escarpment and from the steep walls of the Bahama Channels (Ericson, Ewing, and Heezen, 1952). Seismic-refraction work by Katz and Ewing (1955) and Nafe _et al._ (unpublished) and reflection work by Ewing and Landisman (unpublished) have revealed that distinct seismic interfaces can be traced into the structural benches on the Blake Escarpment. The ancient sediments from the Blake Escarpment and the log of the Andros well allow the dating of some of these formation contacts. At present the most prominent bench at 1200-1500 fathoms appears to mark the base of the Upper Cretaceous. Dredging and further coring on the Blake Escarpment below 1400 fathoms is one of the most promising projects of its type despite the great difficulties involved. [Illustration: FIGURE 23.--_Correlation of structural benches off northeast United States_ Soundings by Coast and Geodetic Survey; 35° 30´N.-38° 30´N.] Lee (1951), who made a topographic study of Exuma Sound, Bahamas, traced several prominent benches through 51 cross sections of the sound. [Illustration: FIGURE 24.--_Geologic section: Western Europe based on refraction measurements_ Data from Day et al. (1956) and Hill (1957). Geologic ages are those assigned by Day on the basis of velocity; they are not based on dredging or drilling.]