MAGDALENA BAY. 45 



there on the 3rd of June, and immediately com- 

 menced these pursuits. 



Magdalena Bay is a deep, commodious inlet, 

 on the western side of Spitzbergen, about six 

 miles in length, in an E.S.E. direction, and two 

 miles in width, with a cove at its upper end, 

 in which, when it is clear of ice, ships may 

 undergo a thorough refit with safety. 



At the time of our arrival, the ice still occu- 

 pied the cove and the upper part of the harbour, 

 but it appeared to be decaying rapidly ; and when 

 we re-visited the anchorage in the beginning of 

 August following, it had entirely disappeared. 



The bay is rendered conspicuous by four gla- 

 ciers, of which the most remarkable, though 

 the smallest in size, is situated, two hundred 

 feet above the sea, on the slope of a mountain.* 



* The most convenient anchorage in this bay is situated off 

 the S.E. end of the first of these glaciers, the marks for which 

 are the centre of the large glacier at the head of the bay in 

 one with the extremity of the low neck of land called the 

 Burying Ground, and the hanging glacier in a line with and 

 over the S.E. end of the second glacier. Here there are 

 about eleven fathoms' water ; and vessels must be cautious not 

 to overshoot this spot, as the bottom is rocky in other places, 

 and the water deepens suddenly, particularly towards the 

 second glacier. In approaching this anchorage, care must 

 also be taken to avoid Shannon Rock, which is just under 

 water, and lies south, a quarter of a mile from a flat rock, 

 which will be seen on the north side of the bay. 



