Dr. Chanca had seen on the shore had not been moved, 

 but that the mouth of the river had gradually built out 

 into the sea beyond it, because of "the frequent high waters 

 of this river and the immense quantity of earth and of 

 sand which was carried from the mountains to the sea." 



Ed found the delta and the muddy flats near the mouth 

 of the Grande Riviere, through which he waded, an indi- 

 cation of its constantly changing contours, for on St.-Mery's 

 map of this area, made in 1796, had appeared a deep in- 

 dentation in the shore hne, where, today, the land jutted 

 into the sea. If Navidad were located on solid ground up 

 the Grande Riviere, it must necessarily have been some 

 distance inland. 



Ed returned to Cap Haitien very httle wiser as to 

 the actual location of Navidad, but with some new ideas. 

 He explained these to me when next I joined him at the 

 Caicos islands late in June. 



Following Morison's theories as to the location of the 

 wreck, Ed pointed out, we had searched all of the reefs 

 which the Santa Maria might have struck on a course from 

 Picolet point to Limonade Bord de Mer if she had sailed 

 between the barrier reef and the inner line of reefs. But if 

 Columbus were heading for Guacanagari's village, and it 

 w;as in the vicinity of the Grande Riviere, he would have 

 taken the more open and accessible passage between the 

 inner Hne of reefs and shore. In this case he might have 

 gone aground on a shoal lying less than a mile from the 

 sandy shore just east of Cape Sable and directly in the path 

 of such a course. There is a wide expanse of deep water 

 both on the outer side of the shoal and between it and the 

 shore. 



A study of an air photograph of this area indicated that 

 the shoal consisted more of sand than coral. We felt sure 

 that our anchor had lain for many centuries on a sandy 

 bottom while its thick coating of sand coral was formed. 



Search for the Santa Maria 227 



