218 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL.1 



type of food. The abundance of fish in the near-by seas is possibly the 

 greatest attraction nowadays. 



Culpepper Island, 1° 39' North, 91° 49' West, marks the north- 

 western limit of the Galapagos Archipelago. It is a small island, 2 miles 

 long, with the greatest elevation 550 feet. It is reported to be quite in- 

 accessible. The Velero III has not visited the island, but passed it, in plain 

 sight, about 10 miles to the westward. 



Wenman Island is 20 miles south and east of Culpepper, almost equi- 

 distant, 75 miles, from Albemarle and Abingdon islands. It is really a 

 group of three islands, but appears as one even at no great distance. The 

 main island is precipitous, 830 feet high, with a flat top. Although vol- 

 canic, the main island appearing to be about half the cone of a large vol- 

 cano, the rock appears to be laid down in uniform layers, probably 

 formed from successive flows. Although the gaps between the separate 

 islands give some degree of shelter, there is no suitable anchorage. 



A shore station on the ledges of rock provided much good material, 

 and birds, marine iguanas, lizards, etc., are plentiful. Dredging opposite 

 the channel between the large island and the smaller island to the north 

 of it, in 100-150 fathoms, in nullipores and worm-tubes, gave good re- 

 sults, although the dead material was large as compared with the living 

 material. 



Abingdon Island, the northwestern island of the three main islands 

 of the northern crescent, is 6 1 /o miles long, north and south, 5 miles wide, 

 1,950 feet high. The shores are precipitous, but in some places there is a 

 sea-level ledge at the foot of the precipice. There are numerous rocks or 

 rocky islets lying offshore. The only reasonable anchorage is \y 2 miles 

 north of Cape Chalmers (the southwestern extremity) on the west side 

 of the island. There is a shore station near this anchorage. 



Bindloe Island is of much the same type as Abingdon, 8 miles long, 

 northwest to southeast, and 5 miles wide, but with greatest height only 

 500 feet. It lies 13^ miles to the southeast of Abingdon Island. Here also 

 the best protection is to the southwest of the island. There are one shore 

 station on the rocks and two dredging stations in shallow water, in sand 

 and rock, and a greater number of tangle stations in water up to 20 

 fathoms, rock. 



Tower Island, 27 miles east of Bindloe, is a smaller island, 4 miles 

 long, east and west, and 3 miles wide, not much like the other two. It is 

 low (100 feet) and is far from being as rugged. Its most characteristic 

 feature is Darwin Bay, a break in the south shore near the east end of 



