NO. 1 GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT AND STATION RECORDS 9 



13 mouths, none of which has a depth greater than 6 feet. The dredging 

 of one of these and the partitioning off of the others by means of break- 

 waters would open to navigation and commerce an untapped source of 

 gold, platinum, ivory nuts, and timber, to say nothing of agricultural 

 possibilities. Silt and floating debris carried down the Atrato River are 

 largely responsible for the extreme muddiness of the Gulf of Darien and 

 the large quantities of driftwood encountered, although other smaller 

 rivers contribute to a lesser degree. 



Shoal water is reported to extend about 20 miles off Pta. de Caribana, 

 a warning sufficient to keep all large vessels out of the Gulf of Darien. 

 However, depths of 32 fathoms are shown in the upper gulf, and 13 

 fathoms in Columbia Bay, a pocket south of the Atrato delta charted by 

 the Darien Expedition of 1871. The entire region is regarded as unhealth- 

 ful, this being the principal reason for its retarded development. 



From Pta. de Caribana, the Colombian coast line trends in a general 

 northeasterly direction for almost 300 miles to Cape Augusta at the 

 mouth of the Magdalena River. Since the course of the Velero III was 45 

 miles offshore for much of this distance, it will be covered very briefly 

 here. One large and important indentation of the coast, the Gulf of 

 Morosquillo, occurs some 68 miles northeast of Pta. Caribana. It is 18 

 miles wide between Pta. Mestizos and Pta. San Bernardo and 8 and 9 

 miles deep, and offers protected anchorage. The Rio Sinu empties into 

 the gulf in a position corresponding to that of the Rio Atrato in the Gulf 

 of Darien, its delta enclosing Puerto Cispata in place of Columbia Bay. 

 However, the Rio Sinu, unlike the Atrato, is navigable for but 95 miles 

 and to vessels of 3^-foot draft only. 



West of Pta. San Bernardo are the Isletas de San Bernardo, consisting 

 of eleven large cays and several smaller ones scattered over an area about 

 130 square miles. The islets are wooded, surrounded by shallow banks, 

 and separated from the mainland by a tortuous channel. 



Twenty-six miles north of Pta. San Bernardo lies Pta. Baru, south- 

 west extremity of Isla de Baru, which forms at once the west side of the 

 Bay of Barbacoas and the south side of Cartagena Harbor. The Islas de 

 Rosario — a group of four small cays known as Islas Rosario, Arena, 

 Grande, and Tesoro — are located a few miles west of Pta. Baru. Remarks 

 made for the Islas de San Bernardo apply equally well here; indeed, the 

 two groups are often mistaken for one another. ! 



The Bay of Barbacoas is the outlet of a remarkable natural canal 

 "El Dique," which enters the Magdalena River at Calamar. This canal 

 is navigable to river steamers except in the dry season. The Bay of Barba- 

 coas communicates with Cartagena Bay to the north by means of the 

 Caballos Canal. 



