162 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL.1 



Panama and the Canal Zone 



Plates 82-86 ; Charts 79-82 



Southeast of the archipelago, 20 miles, is another small archipelago, 

 but the islands here, Secas Islands, are rocky and irregular. Only two of 

 them are large enough to be called islands, but besides these there are 

 numerous islets and rocks. They are dotted over an area 5% miles north 

 and south and 3 miles east and west. They are arranged to form a rough 

 crescent, with the concavity toward the east. Three visits have been made 

 to these islands and 20 collecting stations established, at which much good 

 material has been obtained. The interior of at least one of the islands has 

 been explored, and as one result a land iguana, 5 feet 3 inches long, was 

 obtained. 



On the shore rocks, reefs, and tide flats have been inspected and some 

 good coral masses obtained. There have been dipping by electric light and 

 dredging in several locations, nowhere in more than 25 fathoms, with a 

 variety of bottom, sand, mud, coralline, nullipores, and shell. 



Farther west-southwest ward, 23 miles, are Islas Ladrones, three 

 rocky, barren islets. There are one dredging station 4 miles southeast of 

 Islas Ladrones, in 54 fathoms, green mud, and another 15 miles east of 

 these islands and 10 miles southwest of Secas Islands, in 20 fathoms, gray 

 mud. 



Southeast of Secas Islands, 13 miles, there is still another archipelago, 

 Islas Contreras, but these have not been visited. 



The small, irregular Isla Medidor lies 2 miles to the northwestward 

 of Punta Guarida, and a smaller island, Isla Pacora, to the south of this, 

 with a narrow, rocky channel between. There are one dredging station 

 north of Medidor and three between Medidor and Pacora. 



Bahia Honda is an excellent harbor for vessels of any size, being deep, 

 safe, capacious, and easy of access. The entrance between Punta Guarida 

 and Isla Centinela, off Punta Jabali, is 1,750 yards wide, but inside the 

 bay, the width reaches 3% miles. It is divided into two parts by Isla 

 Talon, 1,350 yards long — the larger, Bahia Chinche, to the westward 

 and the smaller, Bahia Legamo, to the eastward. 



The shore is low and well wooded. Palm trees and bananas mark the 

 position of single habitations, as well as that of the native village on Isla 

 Talon. 



Here there are shore stations in sand, rock, and rocky reefs, coral 

 masses, dipping stations by electric light, dredging stations in depths of 

 5 to 35 fathoms on a variety of bottoms, but mostly on shell and nullipores. 



