156 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL.1 



Monypenny Point and then 12 miles to the open sea at Punta Chiquirin. 

 El Salvador has a port of entiy, its most important port, at La Union; 

 Honduras has one at Amapala; but Nicaragua has none. 



There is no collecting station in or near the Gulf of Fonseca. 



Nicaragua 



Plate 76 



Around the Gulf of Fonseca and along the Nicaraguan coast, which 

 extends southeasterly 160 miles, to Salinas Bay, the immediate back- 

 ground is low, and the mountains farther back are not so high. There is 

 a distinct chain of these extending from the Gulf of Fonseca to Lake 

 Managua, close to the shore at first, but gradually receding to the east- 

 ward. The chain contains many active volcanoes, of which Mount Viejo, 

 5,670 feet, inland from Corinto, and Monotombo, 3,910 feet, on the 

 shore of Lake Managua, are probably the most prominent, as seen from 

 the sea in clear weather. 



The coast line is still regular, and there is no conspicuous inlet any- 

 where. The nearest approach to one is Corinto Harbor, 40 miles from 

 the Gulf of Fonseca, on which is situated the Port of Corinto, the only 

 port of entrance of importance. The Velero III anchored here February 

 6-9, 1932. There is one dredging station, 11 miles northwest of the port, 

 in 1-3 fathoms, in sand and dead leaves. 



Costa Rica — Cocos Island 



Plates 76-81; Charts 75-78 



In crossing the boundary between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, begin- 

 ning with Salinas Bay, the nature of the coast becomes different. Instead 

 of the regular coast line, inlets and peninsulas, with or without pointed 

 headlands, follow in succession, so that the point-to-point measurement 

 from Salinas Bay to Punta Burica of roughly 300 miles gives but a slight 

 idea of the amount of actual coast line. Enough variety is introduced to 

 kindle real enthusiasm in a marine zoologist. 



The coast line, in general, is bolder, rising abruptly to form cliffs or 

 bluffs, or more gradually to rolling hills that are never of great height. 

 One misses the high mountains in the distant background, as they are too 

 far inland to be seen from the sea. Sandy beaches are relatively scarce. 

 The open coast often shows evidence of aridity, with but little except cac- 

 tus in sight, but the shores of the bays may be quite well wooded. 



Salinas Bay is a secondary extension of the larger inlet, the Gulf of 

 Papagayo, which extends from San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua to Cape 



