SEWAGE CONTAMINATION OF OYSTER BEDS. 201 



There is an open waterway from the East to the West passages, 

 between Conanicut and Prudence islands. Between Prudence Ishxnd 

 and the island of Rhode Island the East Passage has somewhat the 

 shape of a long funnel, with the broad, open end directed up river. 

 Bristol Neck reaches down into this wide opening, dividing the pas- 

 sage into two channels, one to the northwest becoming continuous 

 with the Providence River, and one to the northeast leading into 

 Mount Hope Bay, an irregularly shaped expanse of water, about 7 

 miles long and a little over 4 miles in its greatest width, which receives 

 the Kickemuit River at its northwest corner and the Taunton River 

 from the northeast. As has been already stated, it joins Narragan- 

 sett Bay through the narrow passage between Bristol Neck and Bristol 

 Ferry, and the Sakonnet River through a still narrower cut between 

 Connnon Fence Point and the mainland. The city of Fall River, hav- 

 ing a population of nearly 105,000, is situated on the southern shore 

 of the Taunton River, near its junction with Mount Hope Bay. 

 Though a city of Massachusetts, Fall River is of interest in this con- 

 nection because it discharges its sewage into the Taunton River, so 

 that it is possible that pollution from this source might reach the 

 oyster beds in more or less distant parts of the bay. 



The water of tlie lower or southern part of Narragansett Bay varies 

 from 50 to 150 feet in depth. The shores are for the most part rocky, 

 and drop abruptly from the water line to a considerable depth, form- 

 ing no areas that could be of value in the cultivation of oysters. But 

 a very ditferent formation is found in the upper portion of the baj^ 

 The v/ater is shallow, not over 30 feet in mid-channel, and the shores 

 are low and reach out to the channel with a very long and gentle slope. 

 As might be expected, here are many sand beaches and numerous 

 shoals, with 6 to 18 feet of water upon them, making excellent grounds 

 for clams, oj^sters, mussels, scallops, and other shellfish, which are 

 found in abundance. It is estimated that there are some 6,000 acres 

 of this ground in the upper bay suitable for the cultivation of oysters. 



Being in direct communication with the sea, the waters of Narra- 

 gansett Ba}^ are kept in constant circulation by tidal currents, which 

 reach inland bej^ond Providence to the north and Fall River to the 

 eastward. There is a rise and fall, mean average tide, of 1 feet and 

 6 inches at the wharves of Providence, Fall River, and Newport. In 

 some portions of the bay especially strong currents are caused by the 

 formation of the land in the immediate neighborhood. Such currents 

 mu}^ be found in the narrow entrance to Newport Harbor, in the 

 entrance to Mount Hope Bay, and in the "cut" leading from Mount 

 Hope Bay into the Sakonnet River, where very large volumes of water 

 have to pass through narrow openings. Lesser currents, due to a like 

 cause, are found in the Providence River between Conimicut and 

 Nayatt points, at the head of the Western Passage of the bay between 



