GIBRALTAR EOCK PLACENTIA HARBOR. 97 



Gibraltar rock, Avith 5 feet water over it, bears 249-, distant 1:^ 

 miles from Verde Point lighthouse. The channel between this rock 

 and the shore is clear, but there is a patch of 5 fathoms at 1,300 yards 

 east-southeastward of the rock. 



Clearing mark. — Castle hill, in line with Verde point extreme, 

 bearing 69°, leads close northward of Gibraltar rock. 



Verde point, north-northeastward 26 miles from cape St. Mary, 

 is the southwestern entrance point of Placentia road; a stonj'^ shoal 

 extends north-northeastward nearly ^ mile from the point. 



Light. — A light tower rising above a flat-roofed dwelling, painted 

 white and altogether 44 feet high, on Verde point, exhibits at 98 feet 

 above high water, an intermittent white light, thus: light, 2 seconds; 

 eclipse, 1 second, which should be seen a distance in clear weather of 

 11 miles. 



Placentia road. — Crevecoeur point lies northeastward 1^ miles 

 from Verde point, and Placentia road, extending east-southeastward 

 about 1^ miles from between them, affords indifferent anchorage in 

 depth of less than 5 fathoms, sand and gravel bottom. The road- 

 stead is open to winds from west-southwest to north-northwest, which 

 send in a heavy sea, and no vessel should remain at this anchorage 

 when the wind veers from south-southwest to west-southwest, or west, 

 especiall}^ if the barometer is low. 



Privecoeur shoal, a patch of 2f fathoms least water, lies in the 

 fairway with Crevecoeur point bearing 83°, distant ^ mile. 



Shoal. — A 3-fathom patch lies in the roadstead, with Verde Point 

 lighthouse bearing 243^, distant 1 mile. 



Leading mark. — The northern house on Town point, open south- 

 ward of Castle hill, bearing 89°, leads nearly in midchannel between 

 Privecoeur and Verde Point shoals. See also page 99. 



Telegraph cables. — Six telegraph cables are landed at Fresh- 

 water cove, on the northern side of Placentia road. 



In order to avoid fouling these cables, vessels should not anchor 

 within ^ mile of the northern side of the roadstead till eastward of 

 the line of the cable hut bearing 359°. 



Ice. — Placentia road is filled with drift ice by southwesterly to 

 northwesterlj^ winds, but northeasterly winds clear the road : and 

 anchorage can generally be obtained, by vessels drawing 12 feet 

 water, in the northeast arm, where the ice is kept open bj^ the current. 

 The northeast arm occasionally freezes between January 6 and Febru- 

 ary 10, and the ice breaks up between the end of March and April 5. 

 although in severe winters it has not broken up before May 1. 



Placentia harbor is entered from the eastern end of Placentia 



road by a channel, 65 yards in width between the low entrance points, 



and only 10 feet deep at low water. At the time of Cook's Survey 



(1765), there was a depth of 20 feet at low water in the channel. 



76846—09 7 



