226 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL. 1 



Chatham Island, 27 miles east of Barrington, lies with its main axis 

 24 miles long, northeast and southwest, and is 8 miles wide, with two 

 main peaks nearer the west end, 2,490 and 1,927 feet, with a saddleback 

 connecting them. There are other cones of considerable height, making 

 both ends of the island descend quite abruptly to the sea. There is a 

 better fresh-water supply on this island than on any of the others in the 

 archipelago, so that there is richer vegetation, particularly toward the 

 summit of the hills. Some land is under cultivation, and there is a town, 

 Progreso, the capital of the Galapagos, located on the saddleback between 

 the two summits, 5 miles from the shore at Wreck Bay. 



The coast is more irregular than it is on the other islands, as there are 

 more projecting points and indenting bays, some small islands, and many 

 outlying rocks and reefs. The most conspicuous, rocky islet, Kicker Rock, 

 at the entrance to Stephens Bay, 2 miles off Bassa Point, looks as though 

 it were composed of a few very large boulders. It is 486 feet high. Dal- 

 rymple Rock, 62 feet high, off Lido Point at the entrance to Wreck Bay, 

 also stands out clearly. 



Of the bays, three should be mentioned. Wreck Bay (Porto Chico) 

 is on the north shore, near Wreck Point, the western tip of the island. 

 Here there is a safe and well-protected anchorage, but there are so many 

 shoals and reefs on each side of the entrance that the passage may be diffi- 

 cult in bad weather. It is the main port of the island, the only port of call 

 for vessels coming to the islands from Guayaquil. This is one place in 

 the Galapagos where one may see a wharf or pier. Lido Point stands out 

 prominently at the northeast entrance. 



From Lido Point to Bassa Point, the western limit of Stephens Bay 

 (Puerto Grande), there is a ragged coast line. Stephens Bay offers a good 

 anchorage, with safe approach. The entrance, from Bassa Point to Finger 

 Point, is 5 miles across, and the depth of the bay is 2 miles. There is a 

 farther extension of the bay to form Sappho Cove, but here the bottom 

 is strewn with large boulders, and, in consequence, the cove is not suited 

 for anchorage. 



On the south side of the island there is a bay or, better, an open road- 

 stead, Freshwater Bay, into which a fresh-water stream empties after a 

 fall over a lava cliff. There is little or no shelter for boats. 



On Chatham Island there are two inland stations — one on the shore 

 of El Junco Lake, not far from Progreso, and the other Y 2 mile upstream 

 from Freshwater Bay. The shore stations, all on rock, are located at 

 Bassa Point, in Wreck Bay, west of Wreck Bay, toward Wreck Point, 



