AMERICAN 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. 
[SECOND SERIES,] 
Art. I—On the Tides of the Western Coast of the United States. 
— Tides of San Francisco Bay, California ; by A. D. Bacue, 
Superintendent U, S. Coast Survey.* 
Twat observations have been made, in connexion with the hy- 
drography of the Coast Survey, at several points on the Western 
coast, agreeing in showing the same interesting fact of the large 
diurnal inequality of the tides, already traced by Mr. Whewell 
in the observations at the Russian settlement of Sitka. 
The diurnal inequality in height of the tides on the Atlantic 
coast is much more considerable than in Europe, and the diurnal 
inequality of interval is also well marked ; but both require nu- 
merous, carefully made observations to establish their laws, in con- 
Sequence of the particular relation between the semi-diurnal a 
diurnal waves, On the Gulf of Mexico west of St. George’s Isl- 
and, the semi-diurnal tide is almost merged in the diurnal, but 
the total rise and fall is quite small. 
t Key West, and along the western coast of Florida, where 
the diurnal inequality is large, the whole rise and fall of the tides 
is small, rendering numerous observations necessary to obtain re- 
liable numerical results, The same is not the case on the West- 
ern coast ; observations made for a short period through the whole 
twenty-four hours showing a peculiarly large diurnal irregularity 
asthe most remarkable phenomenon of the tides. It becomes 
XXL, No, 61—Jan, 1856. L 
