The Ocean and Its Wonders

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Pages: 108

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About this book

Salt water, shifting ice and the lives of sea creatures give R. M. Ballantyne a wide field for this introduction to the ocean. He begins with the sea's composition, explaining its dissolved salts and the movement of water between rivers, clouds and rain. Everyday experiences, including swimming and floating ships, help him connect the properties of seawater with familiar observations. His account treats natural order as an expression of God's power and care.

The discussion reaches into Arctic waters, where long winters, drifting ice and brief summers shape a distinctive landscape. Ballantyne describes both the hardships of the climate and the glittering beauty of ice under summer sunlight. Readers interested in older nature writing will find a conversational approach that moves between explanation, vivid description and religious reflection, showing how the sea could become a classroom for a general audience.

About the author

R. M. Ballantyne

R. M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish author of adventure fiction for the young. His years as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada gave him a taste for wild places, and he went on to write more than a hundred spirited tales of travel and survival.