1897.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 113 



south from this is a shallow basin with almost level floor, four to 

 five fathoms deep, which drops off somewhat abruptly into the 

 Great sound, two by three miles, and from six to ten fathoms 

 deep. This in turn, is separated from Port Royal bay, six to 

 ten fathoms deep, by a ridge on which are Tucker's and other 

 islands. Eastward from these basins, the ridge is a mile or more 

 wide with many islands, beyond which is Hamilton harbor. 

 The conditions observed in the lagoon are repeated within this 

 enclosed space. 



Harrington Sound. 



Harrington Sound, almost wholly landlocked, communicates 

 with the lagoon by a narrow shallow strait, half a mile long and 

 barely fifty feet wide by six feet deep at its head. The sound is 

 about two miles and a half long by somewhat more than a mile 

 wide, with a narrow bay on the southerly side extending to within 

 an eighth of a mile of the south shore. From the northerly and 

 westerly sides a bench, v/ith from one to four fathoms of water, 

 extends one-eighth to one-half mile from the shore and has upon 

 its outer edge the group known as Trunk islands ; the similar 

 bench on the opposite shores is much narrower. On all sides, 

 this bench drops off suddenly into the principal basin which is 

 given on the map as from six to twelve fathoms deep. The least 

 depth is in the northeasterly half along tlie middle, where there 

 is a line of islands and shoals separated by six fathom channels, 

 while the troughs on both sides of this ridge are from eight to 

 twelve fathoms ; the southerly trough is the deeper and its ex- 

 treme depth, eleven to twelve fathoms, is almost directly along- 

 side the shore bench. The greatest depths are at the northeast 

 end of each trough ; Prof. Ueilprin * reports sixteen fathoms 

 near the Shark's Hole at the extreme northeast or east corner of 

 the sound ; Mr. W. S. Peniston of the Harrington House found 

 a similar depth beyond Pear island in the other trough, where he 

 dropped a fish-basket with eight fathoms of rope and a large 

 buoy, which sank so deeply that even the buoy could not be seen, 

 thus indicating a depth of not less than sixteen fathoms, f 



The southwesterly portion of the sound is a broad basin from 

 six to twelve fathoms deep, the former being found at the ex- 

 treme southwest corner near the outlet. The conditions here 

 are typically the same as those seen in the Great sound and its 

 adjacent shallow basin, the latter being represented by the shelf 

 of Harrington sound, and the shallow outlet by Stag channel 



*The Bermudas, p. 13. 



t It should be stated in explanation of this statement that the water in this sound is 

 so clear that on a quiet day the bottom at eight fathoms is distinctly visible. 

 Transactions N. Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. XVI., Sig. 8, March 28, IS97. 



