AGASSIZ: BAHAMAS. 15 



"With the exception of the changes in the distribution of the sand 

 bores there are only some unimportant modifications of the topography 

 of the islands recorded. Since the careful surveys of 1834, no changes of 

 any consequence have been detected in the configuration of the land ; so 

 that we are warranted in assuming that the configuration of the Bahamas 

 as we now know them does not differ materially from that of the Y" de 

 los Lucayos as they were first discovered by Columbus. The char- 

 acter of the forests alone has been greatly modified since the advent of 

 Europeans. 



The large scale charts of the region we explored in the " Wild Duck " 

 are the British Admiralty Charts, Nos. 393, 659, 1256, 2579, and 2580, 

 and the five Charts of the Bahamas, Nos. 399, 1496, 2009, 2075, and 2077. 

 The deep-sea soundings are in the main those taken by the officers of 

 the United States Coast Survey and United States Fish Commission, in 

 addition to a few lines derived from soundings taken hy the United States 

 Navy Department and the steamers of private companies engaged in the 

 laying of submarine cables. 



The charts of the United States Hydrographic Bureau covering the 

 same field are Nos. 373, 944, 946, and 947, and for the Bahamas, Nos, 

 26 a, b, c, d. Also the United States Coast Survey Chart of the Atlantic 

 Coast from Cape Hatteras to Key West, scale Ymm' ^^s well as the charts 

 of the Florida Eeefs, Nos. 166, 167, 168, and 169. For the smaller 

 charts and plans, and other charts of the W^est Indian and Caribbean 

 districts, referred to in this Eeport, see the Index, and the chapters on 

 the Hydrography of the Bahamas, page 139, and on the Coral Reefs and 

 Banks of the West Indian and Caribbean, pages 145 and 160. 



