172 BREAKER DIRECTION AND HEIGHT 



being well protected in this way from swells from the southward,- 

 southwestward, and southeastward, although it is wide open to the 

 northeast, and although the distance from its entrance to the most 

 easterly promontory of the island is only about iy 2 miles. 



What was said above (p. 163) about the height of surf around prom- 

 ontories applies equally to islands that are much longer than they 



Figube 55. — Chart of St. Pierre Island, off the south coast of Newfoundland. 



Soundings in fathoms. 



are broad, especially if they are linear in form, so that the sheltered 

 side of an island of this shape, lying athwart the general run of the 

 waves, may offer excellent anchorage and easy landing, if it is more 

 than a few hundred yards long. The aerial photograph reproduced in 

 figure 45 illustrates this, for an islet with an irregular coast and off- 

 lying reefs and beds of kelp ; it also illustrates the degree to which a 



