GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF 

 THE VELERO III IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC 



Geographical and Biological Associations 



During the ten years in which the Velero III has been in the service 

 of marine exploration in the Eastern Pacific, the ship has traversed a 

 great stretch of coast line, much of it several times. This running descrip- 

 tion of the coast line, as it is associated with the collecting stations of the 

 Velero III, is presented in the hope and expectation that it may be useful 

 for reference to all those who are interested in the voyages of the 

 Velero III and in the work of the Allan Hancock Foundation, but par- 

 ticularly to anyone who has been, is, or will be engaged in the detailed 

 examination of any portion of the vast amount of biological material col- 

 lected on the voyages, and preserved and stored in the Allan Hancock 

 Foundation Building on the campus of The University of Southern Cali- 

 fornia, Los Angeles. The account is intended as a setting for the record 

 of collecting stations, as listed in a later part of this volume. 



The principal sources of the information here supplied are the hy- 

 drographic survey charts, the three numbers of Coast Pilot that cover this 

 part of the coast, photographs taken by photographers and other members 

 of the Hancock Pacific Expeditions, in the possession of the Allan Han- 

 cock Foundation, direct observations of various members of these expedi- 

 tions, and personal observations. 



No apology is necessary for the greater detail in reference to the Gulf 

 of California and the Galapagos Islands, since the collecting has been 

 much more concentrated in these regions. 



For many of the geographical names there is a lack of agreement in 

 spelling. In cases of disagreement the Coast Pilot has been used as the 

 authority, not that the Coast Pilots show any phenomenal degree of con- 

 sistency, but because in them one can always find the name used, and the 

 likelihood is that, as an authority, they are as reliable as, if not more 

 reliable than, any other single authority. 



The photographs, reproduced for illustration, have been selected, on 

 the whole, from the extensive photograph library of the Foundation to 

 give some pictorial idea of the nature of the coast described. Additional 

 photographs supplied by the several scientists are so indicated in connec- 

 tion with the brief explanation of each illustration used in this account. 

 One set of charts serves to indicate the routes taken in the longer expedi- 

 tions, and the other set shows the trend of the whole coast line on a 

 somewhat larger scale. 



Distances are always given in geographical miles. 



[49] 



