168 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL.1 



show a change, but it is a very gradual one. An occasional cliff or bluff 

 appears to break the monotony of the low, level shore, but there are 

 still many estuaries, deltas, and mud flats. 



Galera Point is the northwest point of a high, rocky promontory, ex- 

 tending southward 1 1 miles to Cape San Francisco. It much resembles 

 the promontory at Cape Corrientes, but the face is convex rather than 

 concave. It is the most northerly of the westerly projecting points in 

 Ecuador. Behind the cape there is a bay, San Francisco Bay, which is 

 much similar to Cabita Bay. There is a northern projection — a narrower, 

 shallower portion, runing farther inland. A small river, or stream, comes 

 down to this portion, but at low tide is pretty well shut off from it by 

 a sandbar. Near the mouth are clusters of graceful trees, outliers of the 

 denser forests farther back. East of the mouth of the river is an extensive 

 sand beach, behind which the native village of San Francisco is situated. 

 Seining has been done in the mouth of the stream, and shore collecting on 

 the rocky shore of the projecting peninsula. As in other places in this 

 region, dredging in the mud is not effective. The only place to get worth- 

 while material is in shallow water over the reef, where dredging is any- 

 thing but a smooth procedure. 



From Cape San Francisco there is a wide bight, 65 miles, to Cape 

 Pasado and then a less extensive one, 50 miles, to Cape San Lorenzo. The 

 southern shore of the latter bight runs directly westward; and in it, 15 

 miles from Cape San Lorenzo, is the small indentation, Manta Bay, on 

 which is located the town of Manta, the port for Montechristi, where 

 the finest Panama hats are made. Coral masses have been collected in 

 Manta Bay, and the rocky shores and the reefs have provided some mate- 

 rial, but no dredging has been done in the vicinity. 



La Plata Island lies 16 miles southwest of Cape San Lorenzo. It is 

 3% miles long, northwest to southeast, and 1*4 miles wide. It reaches a 

 height of 615 feet, and, in general, the shores are precipitous, although 

 there is a somewhat more gentle slope in a ravine that passes down to a 

 beach on the east shore. It is quite unlike Gorgona Island, since much of 

 it is arid, although there is enough vegetation to support some cattle and 

 numerous white goats. Shore collecting on the rocks and dredging in 

 10-15 fathoms near shore, and in 45-55 fathoms farther out, in mud, 

 indicate the activities here. The shallow-water dredging is quite profit- 

 able, but the deeper dredging is too reminiscent of the coastal areas im- 

 mediately to the northward to be satisfactory. 



