SANDY BAY PARSONS POND. 331 



fronted by flat ledges of rock extending off about 200 yards, and out- 

 side them the water deepens gradually to 10 fathoms at the distance 

 of ^ mile. 



At about 4 miles from Lower head the rocky ledges cease, and the 

 stony beach becomes less rough, and finally changes to sand ; inside 

 these is a steep yellow-clay bank, which shows well from seaward. 

 Behind this bank there is a large pond and low, marshy ground. 



Sandy bay, 5 miles from Lower head, is a shallow bend in the 

 coast; it is generally foul and rocky, and affords only temporary 

 anchorage. The entrance to Parsons pond is near its southeastern 

 end. 



Parsons pond extends inland about 7 miles from Sandy bay, with 

 an average breadth inside the narrows near the entrance of about 1 

 mile. The entrance is obstructed by a bar of coarse shingle, with a 

 depth of 4: feet over it, and immediately inside the entrance, on the 

 southern bank, is the village, with some buildings on the sandy spit 

 opposite. Here the depth in the channel is about 1 fathom, but 

 farther in it quickly shoals again to 3 feet, through a stony flat. At 

 1^ miles within the entrance the channel contracts to little over 200 

 yards, with a depth of 1 to 2 fathoms. Above this the pond opens 

 out for about 1^ miles, where are the inner narrows, beyond which the 

 water deepens to 5 and 8 fathoms. This depth continues to the head, 

 which lies directly at the foot of the mountains. 



Borings for oil have been made on the southern shore of Parsons 

 pond at 5^ miles from the entrance. 



The coast from Sandy bay trends about north-northeastward, and 

 is a low, stony beach, with a clay bank behind it, for f mile. Thence a 

 rough beach of stones and bowlders, fronted in places by rocky 

 ledges, extends for about 4 miles to the Arches, a cluster of detached 

 masses of sandstone honeycombed by the sea, and standing on a sandy 

 beach a little above low water. The coast is fairly steep, the 10- fathom 

 contour line being generally about ^ mile off, while the contour line 

 of 50 fathoms closes in to a distance of 4 miles from the land west- 

 northwestw^ard of Sandy bay. 



The country within this coast consists of low ridges, thickly wooded, 

 with large tracts of marsh extending toward the mountains, some 6 

 miles inland. 



At 2 miles north-northeastward of the Arches the direction of the 

 coast bends to the northeastward, and Portland hill, rather more than 

 •| mile inland, is 530 feet high, thickly wooded, and, from the south- 

 ward, wedge-shaped. Its western end is a perpendicular cliff", which 

 extends a little along the southern and northwestern faces, gradually 

 changing to a steep slope, which joins with the ridges farther inland. 

 This hill is conspicuous from seavzard. 



