NO. 2 FRASER : SCIENTIFIC WORK, VELERO III, EASTERN PACIFIC 159 



Southwest of Cacique Point there is a small bay, 1% miles wide, 

 Cocos Bay, at the head of which is a port of entry. There is one dredging 

 station near the head of this bay, in 2 fathoms, sand and shell. 



The southwest extremity of Cocos Bay is Miga Point, and beyond it 

 is Gorda Bay, extending 4 miles to Gorda Point, the southwest extremity 

 of the inner bay. Southwest of Gorda Point is another point (unnamed) 

 2% miles away, off which are the Brummel Islands, and the Catalina 

 Islands, farther out. From this point to Cape Velas, 10 miles, there is a 

 bight extending at the head to two smaller bays. This is the southern limit 

 of the papagayos. 



From Cape Velas, the coast, not quite regular, extends for 30 miles 

 south-southeastward to Guionos Point, then east-southeastward, 21 miles, 

 to Quinones Point, and from this point, much the same distance south- 

 eastward to Cabo Blanca, at the western entrance to the Gulf of Nicoya. 



Much of the coastal area around the southern half of the Gulf of 

 Culebra and on to Cape Velas is lower than the coast of Costa Rica, 

 farther north, but after Cape Velas it becomes hilly again. Most of the 

 shore line is bolder and there are few sandy beaches. There are no inlets 

 of importance between Cape Velas and Cabo Blanca. 



Cabo Blanca serves as a striking landmark, for here the coast turns 

 and turns again so abruptly that a well-marked peninsular headland is 

 formed. The point rises rapidly, so that within one mile it has an eleva- 

 tion of 1,200 feet. This height is kept with little change to form a table- 

 land extending inland for 6 miles, after which there is a receding slope 

 to a lower plain. Isla Blanca lies one mile south of the point. 



Gulfo de Nicoya (Gulf of Nicoya) is a large body of water, 34 miles 

 wide at the entrance, between Cabo Blanca and Punta Judas, extending 

 into the land, first northward and then northwestward, 52 miles. From 

 Cabo Blanca the shore extends northeastward 23 miles to Negritos 

 Island, largely as a series of small bays, often with sandy shores, sepa- 

 rated by rocky points. From Negritos Island to the head there are nu- 

 merous islands and much shoal water off the shore. That is true to some 

 extent of the northeast shore as well, but it is not carried to the same 

 extreme. Punta Arenas, a 4-mile, slender tongue of land extending west- 

 ward, separates the inner part of the gulf from the outer. Near it is the 

 port of entry, Puntarenas, near which the water is too shallow for any 

 but quite small boats. 



From Punta Arenas to Herradura Point there is a long bight, from 

 which the shore passes southeasterly 10 miles to Punta Judas, a bold point 



