NELSON ON THE BAHAMAS. 203 



miles), stretching about N.W. and S.E., quite open to the Atlantic ; 

 the base (850) lying parallel to the northern coasts of Cuba and St. 

 Domingo, and separated from the former by a channel at one point 

 not twenty miles wide ; the perpendicular (350) forming the eastern 

 side of the Gulf of Florida, and therefore the eastern limit of the 

 Gulf Stream as it wheels sharply to the left round Cape Sable on its 

 way northward. Matanilla Point, Cay Sal Lighthouse, and the 

 Navidad Bank, are the northern, western, and eastern apices respect- 

 ively of the circumscribing triangle above-mentioned, the central 

 point of which may be said to be in N. Lat. 24°, and W. Long. 7^°'^. 



The Bahamas consist of four great groups, viz. the Little Bahama 

 Bank, the Great Bahama Bank, the Cay Sal Bank, and the Caicos 

 Bank, which comprise numerous islands and islets, and of the minor 

 and less independent groups and detached islands of Great and Little 

 Inagua, Turks Island, Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad 

 Bank, which are towards the south-eastern extremity of the triangle. 



The prevalent winds f are north-east, east, and south-east ; and it 

 will be observed, that, generally speaking, the islands are on those 

 sides of their respective groups and banks. 



The largest island is North Andros (on the Grand Bahama Bank), 

 which is about fifty miles in length by about thirty in breadth. 



The loftiest land in the Bahamas, according to the maps of the 

 Hydrographical Office, is only 230 feet above the sea. Generally 

 speaking, the hills on the larger islands are much under 100 feet in 

 height, and on the islets from 50 to 10 feet. This remarkable low- 

 ness of profile is shown by fig. 1 . 



The surface generally is occupied by low rocky hills, either sur- 

 rounding basins or forming parts of what may once have been basins, 

 and rarely by distinct hill and valley of the ordinary character. 

 The bottoms of these basins are usually flat and rocky, only a few 

 inches above the average high-water level, and have a rough and 

 cavernous surface. Water, more or less brackish, rises and falls 

 everywhere throughout the lower parts of these flats, though not con- 

 temporaneously with the tide J, or at a uniform rate. The surface is 

 sometimes covered vnth grass and low bush, and sometimes it con- 

 sists of the bare rock, full of hollows, which are coated or even arched 

 over with sub-stalagmitic substance. It is in these cavities, locally 

 termed "pot-holes," that most of the soil is found; and in the gardens 

 made on such ground, fruit-trees, pine-apples, Indian corn, sugar- 

 cane, &c. grow luxuriantly. Besides these " rock -marshes §" there 

 are also ordinary marshes and mangrove swamps, of no great extent 



* The author particular!)' refers to the Chart of the West Indies, prepared by 

 Mr. Hobbs, 1849, and published by Wilson, as being worthy of recommendation. 



•f In Part I. Sect. 11 of his Memoir, Capt. Nelson has placed a series of Meteoro- 

 logical notices, supplied by Mr. Chief Justice Lees, and the following is given as 

 the approximate proportion of winds, on an average of three observations per diem 

 for seven years, taking West as 1 : — N. 3^; N. to E. 28; E. IQi; S. to E. 24 ; 

 S. 6 ; S. to W. A-\ ; W. 1 ; N. to W. 6f ; Calm 7^. 



X At Nassau, Bahamas, the tide rises from 4 to 3 feet (Spring to Neap) ; but 

 at Bermuda it rises from 6 to 4^. 



§ There is no rock-marsh at Bermuda. 

 VOL. IX. PART I. P 



