Gorringe Bank
| Gorringe Ridge | |
|---|---|
| Summit depth | 25 m (82 ft) |
| Summit area | 60 km × 180 km (37 mi × 112 mi) |
| Location | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 36°28′36.3″N 11°35′1.3″W / 36.476750°N 11.583694°WCoordinates: 36°28′36.3″N 11°35′1.3″W / 36.476750°N 11.583694°W |
| Geology | |
| Type | Underwater ridge |
| History | |
| Discovery date | 6 November 1875 |
| Discovered by | USS Gettysburg (1858), United States Coast Survey |
The Gorringe Ridge is a seamount in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located about 130 miles (210 km) west of Portugal, between the Azores and the Strait of Gibraltar along the Azores–Gibraltar fault zone. It is about 60 km wide and 180 km long in the northeast direction.
In the nineteenth century the United States Coast Survey embarked on an ambitious program to map the seafloors of the world's main oceanways. This produced extensive maps of the more shallow areas, but deep-ocean work was hampered by lack of robust equipment. In 1872, English scientist Sir William Thomson invented a wire-based depth-sounding mechanism which was a significant improvement over rope-type equipment used previously. This Thomson Sounding Machine made its first discovery in 1874, of several seamounts west of the Hawaiian Islands. Its second use was on the USS Gettysburg (1858), an ocean-going vessel used in 1875 to extensively map the Eastern Atlantic seafloor. The ship was commanded by Captain Henry Honychurch Gorringe. On 6 November 1875 this expedition discovered the raised area (which was referred to as Gorringe Bank in reference to the ship's captain), and spent time mapping it. They determined that it contained two significant peaks, which they named Gettysburg (the highest, at 20 meters depth) and Ormonde (the second highest, at 33 meters depth).
In the early twentieth century, Albert I, Prince of Monaco spent considerable time exploring and mapping the Gorringe Bank, using a total of three ships: Princess Alice, Princess Alice II, and Hirondelle II. The ships' names were given to several mounds and large banks between Madeira and the Azores.
In June 2005, the Oceana Organization mounted an extensive exploration of the biota on Gorringe Ridge's two largest peaks. It aims to categorize and determine relative abundance of the diverse lifeforms there.
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