COMMERCE. 177 



and then turning to the southeastward, is a magnificent har- 

 bor. A channel, thirty feet deep and half a mile wide, ex- 

 tends more than half the length of the Bay, from the entrance. 

 The holding-ground is good ; the protection from the winds 

 perfect. There is no difficulty in entering at any time, but it 

 is not safe for sailing vessels to go out during gales from the 

 southeast. 



In latitude 34 38', thirty-five miles southeastward from Los 

 Angeles, is a land-locked estuary, about eight miles long and 

 from half a mile to a mile wide. It has not been surveyed, 

 and its value for commerce is not known ; but there has been 

 some talk lately of using it as a port for some of the adjacent 

 towns. The entrance is not more than ten feet deep, and 

 probably not so deep as that. 



Of the open harbors, that of Crescent City is the most 

 northern, in latitude 41 44'. It lies on the southern side of a 

 rocky point that juts out about half a mile in a westward 

 direction, at right angles to the general line of the coast. The 

 harbor is small and shallow, with a bottom of sand and rocks. 

 Vessels drawing twelve feet of water lie nearly half a mile 

 from the shore. The harbor is safe while the wind blows from 

 the north and northwest, but is very dangerous when it blows 

 from the southward. The harbor might be made much more 

 safe by a breakwater, at a cost of one or two millions of dol- 

 lars. 



Trinidad, in 41 03', is a very small harbor, open to the 

 south, with deep water and excellent holding-ground. 



Bodega Bay, in 38 18', has nine feet of water, and opens 

 to the southward, so that the anchorage is secure only while 

 the wind blows from the north. Tomales Bay, just opposite, 

 opens into the southern part of Bodega Bay, and is only five 

 miles distant from the Bodega anchorage : and, as one is se- 

 cure against northern and the other against southern winds, 

 vessels are safe in all weathers, because they can easily run 

 across to whichever may prove the sheltered side. 

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