SINGULAR TIDAL PHENOMENON. 261 



the eastern shore of which we saw on the morning 

 of the 1st of July. In the afternqpn we anchored 

 in 3i fathoms ; the north end of a very low sandy 

 piece of coast, which we found to be in lat. l6° 13J', ? 

 long. O'' 10' E. of Port Essington, bearing S. 70° E., 

 six miles and a half. From this place the coast 

 trended S. 10° W., and was fringed with mangroves ; 

 a few straggling casuarinas grew near the sandy 

 parts, a feature which we constantly afterwards found 

 to recur ; their tall broom-like shapes form a re- 

 markable element in the coast scenery of the Gulf. 



A fruitless attempt was made to visit the shore, 

 which was fronted for the distance of a mile by 

 a bank of soft mud. We could therefore gfain no 

 information respecting the interior ; but from the 

 numerous fires, it appeared to be thickly inhabited. 

 It was here that we first observed the singular 

 phenomenon of the tides ebbing and flowing twelve 

 hours. 



Next day the coast was examined for fifteen miles 

 to the southward ; its general character has already 

 been given, which renders it unnecessary to dilate 

 further here. North-east winds now forced us 

 away from the land, and we did not see it again 

 till the morning of the 3rd ; when, finding as much 

 as four fathoms within two miles and a half of a 

 projection, we named it, in consequence. Bold Point. 

 It is in latitude 17° O'S.., long. 8° 48' E. of Port 

 Essington, and is rendered conspicuous by two 

 clumps of trees. N. 23° W. two miles from 



