646 GEOGRAPHICAL, DATA. 



having very narrow entrances, by which the tide finds access and 

 egress. These sand bars are in some parts only a few feet above the 

 sea, whilst in others they rise into hills of blown sand of considerable 

 elevation. They appear to be increasing, since they are generally 

 ridges of sand with from 9 to 12 feet water parallel to. and from 50 

 to 100 fathoms outside the beach. There are 3 and 4 fathoms of 

 water between these ridges and the shore, a circumstance which has 

 often proved fatal to the crews of vessels wrecked upon these shores. 

 These hilly islands thus disposed in a curvilinear shape, and con- 

 nected together by sand bars, inclosing lagoons, reminds one forcibly 

 of those islands in tropical seas which are connected together by coral 

 reefs. 



In a bright sunny day of summer, the cliffs of various colors, in 

 which different shades of red predominate, and the yellow of the sand 

 bars contrasted with the green pastures of the hill sides, the darker 

 green of the spruce trees, and the blue of the sea and sky, produce 

 an effect extremely beautiful, and one which distinguishes these 

 islands from anything else in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In stormy 

 weather, the appearance is equally characteristic. Isolated hills anci 

 craggy cliffs are then dimly seen through the rain and mist which 

 accompany an easterly gale, and appear joined by long ranges of 

 breakers, which almost hide the sand-bars. At such times it is dan- 

 gerous to attempt making the islands, for in approaching the lower 

 parts, the breakers would probably be the first thing seen from a 

 vessel. 



The Magdalens possess no harbour for ships, but three for small 

 vessels, named Amherst, House, and Grand Entry Harbors, which 

 will be noticed in the following concise description of the shores of 

 the islands, and the dangers off them. 



The east point of the Magdalens is of low sand, inclosing several 

 shallow ponds, and having several sand hills, some of which are near 

 its extremity, while others, of greater elevation and further to the 

 westward, extend in a chain nearly to the N. E. cape. These last- 

 mentioned sand hills are inland, and on the margin of the northeast- 

 ern part of the great lagoon. The N. E. cape is a hill on East Island, 

 which stands at the head of Grand Entry Harbor. It is a very 

 remarkable cape, and its isolated cliffs, being 230 feet high, can be seen 

 all over the sand-hills and sand-bars, so that when these last are below 

 the horison, the N. E. cape appears to be the eastern extremity of the 

 chain. 



