AGASSIZ: BAHAMAS. 89 



find an anchorage, and from which the boats of the fleet might have 

 rowed in safety to examine the " other side," and return the same day 

 to their ships. 



I may here quote from a translation, by Mr. H. L. Thomas of the U. S. 

 State Department, of the Journal of Columbus, 1 the following points of 

 interest regarding the so called barrier reef off the east face of Watling 

 Island : " Went along the island, in a northeasterly direction, to see the 

 other side, which was on the other side of the east. ... I was afraid of 

 a reef of rocks which entirely surrounds that island, 2 although there is 

 within it depth enough and ample harbor for all the vessels of Chris- 

 tendom, but the entrance is very narrow. It is true that the interior of 

 that belt contains some rocks, but the sea is there as still as the water in 

 a well." 



From Columbus Bight on the east coast there is an excellent boat 

 passage inside the reef leading to Graham Harbor, aud it is within this 

 passage that the boats of Columbus probably rowed to explore the 

 other side of the island. It is undoubtedly to this passage, sheltered by 

 the reef, and to the reef harbor, that he refers as capable of holding the 

 navies of the world. Such a wonder as a reef harbor or a passage inside 

 a barrier reef could not fail to strike him, and it seems strange that it 

 is not better described in his journal, and that so little is said by him of 

 the striking contrast of the light green color of the water inside the bar- 

 rier reef and in Graham Harbor with the dark blue of the ocean beyond 

 the 100 fathom line. 



The 100 fathom line extends about a mile beyond the reef. Inside 

 the reef, the passage is on an average about a third of a mile wide. The 

 100 fathom line runs at a fairly uniform distance from the shore all 

 round the island, except off the Hinchinbroke Rocks at the southeast 

 end, where the bank extends seaward more than two miles, and comes 

 in again along the south shore to Southwest Point. 



Along the west coast disconnected patches of coral heads extend from 

 a depth of three or four fathoms towards the edge of the bank. We came 

 to anchor that same day at Southwest Point on the steep slope of a sand 

 beach. Here we also found, in from four to twelve fathoms of water, 

 outside the action of the breakers, fine patches of Madrepores and other 

 masses of corals furnishing material for the recent coral beaches which 

 form a low plateau flanking the seolian hills. This plateau lies at inter- 

 vals between headlands along the western face of the island. 



1 G. V. Fox, Appendix 18, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Report for 1880, p. 14. 



2 Not the west side. 



