Seismic-reflection profiles off the western coast of Florida south of 27° N lat. have been recorded during two cruises of Texas A&M University's R/V Alaminos in May 1967 and June 1968. They show that the anticlinal ridge present near the top of the West Florida escarpment, which has been proposed to be an extension of the Washita-Fredericksburg reef trend, may possibly be traced southward to the latitude of the Florida Keys.

Several crossings have been made of a large knoll in the western end of the Straits of Florida. Preliminary analysis of the real-time records, without benefit of playback, indicates the presence of a terrace at a water depth of 840 fm, and the possibility that an anticlinal feature, remarkably similar to that seen on the Florida escarpment toward the north, is present.

Reexamination of earlier data from the Campeche Bank and comparison with those presented here reveal several similarities and provide evidence that the Campeche Bank and the Florida escarpment once might have been connected. However, the presence of deep-water Lower Cretaceous in northern Pinar del Rio Province, western Cuba, may indicate that no connection ever existed. If the two escarpments ever were connected, it is not known whether grabenlike faulting, erosion, or both caused the separation of these two features. More information is being sought in geomagnetic and sedimentological studies now in progress.

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