NO. 2 FRASER : SCIENTIFIC WORK, VELERO III, EASTERN PACIFIC 225 



island, but it is cut through by two narrow channels, to leave South Sey- 

 mour and North Seymour islands, extending for another 5% miles north- 

 ward. The islands are both low and flat, with much of the surface easily 

 traveled, but there are areas of broken lava rock and low boulders that 

 make it rough. The vegetation is sparse, cactus being most conspicuous, 

 made more sparse by the activities of the numerous goats that roam the 

 islands, or, at least, South Seymour. South Seymour is the home of a large 

 species of land iguana, of a reddish brown color that blends very well with 

 the color of the lava rock where it lives. 



There are strong tide rips and crosscurrents around and north of the 

 islands. Most of the shore is rocky, but on the west shore of South Sey- 

 mour there is a sand beach, probably the largest and finest in the archi- 

 pelago, with the most conspicuous faunal feature, the large burrowing 

 hermit crab, which leaves trails everywhere in the sand when the tide is 

 out. On the shores of a small bay (which has been named Velero Bay) 

 near the north end of the west coast of South Seymour, there is an in- 

 teresting fossil-bearing stratum exposed. 



Two rocky islets, Daphne Major and Daphne Minor, lie offshore to 

 the westward, a short distance from South Seymour. They are precipi- 

 tous and conspicuous. It is only with difficulty that a landing can be made 

 on either of them. They increase the channel area in this region. 



Collecting in the Seymour Island region has been confined to the west 

 side of the islands and the adjacent waters. There are shore stations on 

 the rocks of North Seymour, in Velero Bay, on the rocks and on the sand 

 beach of South Seymour; inland collecting; several electric light stations; 

 and dredging stations in shallow water, mostly in sand or in sand with 

 rock patches, all along the west coast of both islands and in deeper water, 

 up to 80 fathoms, in shell and rock in the channel between the Daphne 

 Islands and South Seymour. The results from the deeper dredging have 

 been gratifying, since several species were obtained here that did not ap- 

 pear in any of the other Galapagos collections. 



Barrington Island, 10 miles southeast of Indefatigable Island, is a 

 rugged island, 6 miles long, east and west, and 3% miles wide, with a 

 height of 900 feet. Its shores are so precipitous that landing is difficult 

 except at the southern end of the east coast, and even here the anchorage 

 is poor. On the southeast shore there are shore stations on the rocks and 

 among the coral masses, and a diving station in 2 fathoms. There are one 

 dredging station in shallow water near by and others in deeper water, 45 

 to 75 fathoms, 2 miles and 6 miles north of the island. 



