Abstract

We have extended the CfA Redshift Survey to low galactic latitudes to investigate the relation between the Great Wall in the North Galactic Cap and the Perseus-Pisces chain in the South Galactic Cap. We present redshifts for 2020 galaxies in the Catalogue of Galaxies and of Clusters of Galaxies (Zwicky et al. 1961-68, CGCG) in the following regions: 4^h^ <= α <= 8^h^, 17^h^ <= α <= 20^h^, 0^deg^ <= δ <= 45^deg^. In these regions, the redshift catalogue includes 1664 galaxies with B(0) <= 15.5 (of which 820 are newly measured) and is 97% complete. We also include redshifts for an additional 356 galaxies in these regions with B(O) > 15.5; of these, 148 were previously unmeasured. The CGCG samples the galaxy distribution down to b_II_ = 10^deg^. In this paper, we discuss the acquisition and reduction of the spectra, and we examine the qualitative features of the redshift distribution. The Great Wall and the Perseus-Pisces chain are not simply connected across the Zone of Avoidance. These structures, which at first appear to be coherent on scales of ~100 h^-1^ Mpc or more, actually form the boundaries of neighboring voids of considerably smaller scale, approximately 50h^-1^ Mpc. The structures delineated by our optically-selected sample are qualitatively similar to those detected by the far-infrared-selected IRAS 1.2 Jansky Survey (Fisher et al. 1995). Although the IRAS survey probes more deeply into the Zone of Avoidance, our optically-selected survey provides better sampling of structures at b_II_ >= 10^deg^.