6 BULLETIN 134, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



on the Caribbean and Panama on the Pacific slope. These prov- 

 inces, however, extend westward beyond the Bayano River and the 

 Canal Zone to the adjoining Province of Veraguas. The term 

 " Darien " also applies to a gulf some distance down the Caribbean 

 coast southeast of Caledonia Bay; this gulf also known as Uraba 

 cuts deeply into the Atrato River valley of northern Colombia. 



Pacific Slope. — Turning to the Pacific or southern coast of south- 

 eastern Panama, one finds the harbor of " Darien " at the inner 

 reaches of San Miguel Bay. Into Darien Harbor flow two great 

 rivers, one, the Tuyra, entering from the south; the other, the 

 Savannah, flowing from the north. The Bay of San Miguel is sev- 

 eral miles across at its mouth. Inside it broadens out to a much 

 greater width. The shores are irregular with precipitous banks 

 that get higher as one journeys inland. 



William Dampier, in his New Voyage Around the World, wrote: 



The Gulf of St. Michael * * * is a place where many great rivers 

 having finished their courses, are swallowed up in the sea * * *. On 

 either side the gulf runs in towards the land somewhat narrower and makes 

 five or six small islands, and good channels between the island, beyond which 

 further in still, the shore on each side closes so near with two points of low 

 mangrove lands as to make a narrow or straight, scarce half a mile wide. 

 This serves as a mouth or entrance to the inner part of the gulf, which is a 

 deep bay, two or three leagues on every way, and about the east end thereof 

 are the mouths of several rivers, the chief of which is that of Santa Maria ; 

 this is the way that the privateers have generally taken as the nearest between 

 the North and South Seas. 



The entrance to Darien Harbor is blocked by a large island sep- 

 arating the two channels, Boca Chica and the Boca Grande; the 

 latter entrance was used by the American fleet in 1907 when it an- 

 chored in Darien Harbor. The native trading and fishing boats 

 employ the Boca Chica entrance. 



Geolagy : Mountain ranges and passes. — When one studies the 

 geography of the interior of southeastern Panama, several outstand- 

 ing features present themselves. Geologically the region is markedly 

 different from the territory farther south. The lowlands rest upon 

 a coralline substratum, while the mountains belong to a hypogene 

 formation consisting mainly of granite and syenite, igneous rocks 

 now exposed to erosion. 



The highest elevations on the isthmus are on its western portion, 

 where there is an extension of the Costa Rican system. There is 

 a decline in elevation toward the Canal Zone, where the Culebra 

 Pass reaches an altitude of only 290 feet above sea level. There is 

 again a rise in altitude toward the Colombian border. The isolated 

 peaks and mountain ranges of southeastern Panama are not a con- 

 tinuation of an Andean range. In general, some of the Provinces 

 of Panama are mountainous while others have level plains. The 



