.27 



In the uortheru and \vesteni portions ol" the lake the salinity 

 o£ the water is from 1.015 to 1.017. In the east end, near the 

 wide pass to the Gulf, it is higher, sometimes reaching 1.020. 

 The abundance of the food supply varies considerably in the 

 different parts of the lake. In the western end the food organ- 

 isms are very abundant, especially near the shallow flats on 

 the north side of Last Island. Toward the eastern end of thx- 

 lake the supply decreases, being least near the junction with Cat 

 Island Lake. Jn the shallow, more sheltered, northeastern por- 

 tion the oyster food is abundant and similar in its component 

 forms to that found in the bodies of water deeper in the marsh. 



At the northeast corner of Lake Pelto, a narrow pass extends 

 to California Bay, a nearly circular body of water lying north- 

 east of Bay Kond. This pass has a deep channel with from 

 twelve to twenty feet of water, and has shallow mud flats on 

 either side. The bottom in the channel is composed of sticky 

 mud, while the flats are very soft. In California Bay there is 

 deep Water near the entrance of the pass; while over the re- 

 remaining portion the depth is about three feet. The hard bot- 

 tom is confined to the areas along the sides of the channel w^here 

 there have been oyster reefs. A rather soft mud makes. up the 

 bottom over the remainder of the bay. 



Bay Long, just north of California Bay, is some four miles 

 long and its average width is about one-quarter of a mile. At 

 its western end it opens into Pelican Lake, and at its east end 

 it connects with a broad shallow portion of Little Bayou Sale. 

 At both ends of this bay the water is very shallow, not more 

 than two and one-half feet, while in the middle portion the depth 

 is about five feet. The bottom is generally soft, being composed 

 of deep mud in the shallower portions and of firmer sticky mud 

 in the deeper middle ])art. No natural reefs were found in this 

 bay. but there may have been natural reefs on the harder parts 

 that are now occupied by bedding grounds. 



In California Bay and in l?ay Long the salinity of the water 

 was l.(Jl(i and the food matei-ial was abundant. 



North of Bay Long there is another bay running nearly 

 parallel with it, which opens at its west end into Pelican Lake, 

 but which ends blindly at the east end. This bay is divided into 

 two portions by a chain of islands about one-third of the way 



