CLIMATE, WEATHER, TIDES, ETC. 49 



on themselves or the vessel, for which it seemed to be directly 

 making. On it came, and suddenly enveloped the vessel, the light 

 being sufficiently bright as it passed to show the time by a watch 

 drawn from the pocket. 



At this time the tvind was very light. The phenomenon, what- 

 ever it was, appeared to move independently of the wind, for some 

 eight minutes later it returned, passing the vessel a short distance 

 oft" in the opposite direction. 



Ice. — About the 10th of February ice-fields begin to make their 

 appearance off the north-west coasts of the Southern Kurils. 



This ice is formed in the northern and north-western parts of 

 the Sea of Okhotsk, and as it gets broken up is carried by currents 

 and winds across that sea to the islands, where it often blocks 

 the coasts and straits for hundreds of miles. The wind has much 

 more to do with the direction these ice-fields take than the currents, 

 a moderate breeze being sufficient to drive the floes even against 

 the Oya Shiwo. 



The surface of these fields of ice is very uneven and hummocky, 

 thus giving the wind considerable hold, the piled-up masses acting 

 as sails. The thickness of this ice usually varies from about 12 to 

 30 feet, the snow upon it adding considerably to its bulk. 



These ice-fields eventually all find their way through the straits 

 into the Pacific, where, after being driven beyond the cold waters 

 of the Oya Shiwo, they are quickly melted. The ice often fills 

 the space between Yetorup, Kunashir, the eastern coast of Yezo, 

 and Shikotan, and sometimes it finds its way down the south-east 

 coast of Yezo, almost as far as Cape Yerimo. During the early 

 part of April this year (1892) the ice was driven into Kushiro on 

 this coast, wrecking two small steamers which were lying there. 

 In April, 1887, the American whaler Eiiropa was forced on to the 

 shore of Kunashir by the ice, and was lost. By the middle of 

 May, as a rule, the ice has all disappeared. 



Tides, Currents, etc. — The tides on the Kuril Islands are often 

 irregular. The flood stream sets through the various channels to 

 the north-westward, and the ebb to the southward. The rise and 

 fall is from about 3ij to 6 feet. 



Through the various straits the stream at times rushes with 

 a speed of four and five knots, resulting in very heavy tide-rips off" 

 the ends of the islands. These rips are occasionally so bad that 



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