O0EA¥ TEMPEEATURES. 165 



entrance to Charleston Harbor, and Frying Pan Shoals lightship is 17 miles off Cape Fear, North 

 Carolina. It is passible that the fresh waters emptying into the sea in the neighborhood of the 

 two former stations may influence the surface temperatures to a greater or less degree, but the 

 distance of these light-ships from shore makes this supposition improbab% Cape Lookout 

 light-house is a shore station afS)rding results of local value only, and Body's Island light-house, 

 about 35 miles north of Cape Hatteras, is of the same character. 



At Winter Quarter Shoal light-ship, Virginia, the next station north pf Body's Island, the 

 100-fathom curve is distant about 55 miles from shore, the submerged continental plateau having 

 about the same width here as to the south of Cape Lookout. At Five-Fathom Bank the width 

 increases to over 65 miles; opposite New York Bay entrance it is about 100 miles wide, and in 

 front of Nantucket Island about 80 miles wide. The slope of the bottom along this part of the 

 coast is also very gradual until a depth of about 50 fathoms is reached, the distance between the 

 50 and 100 fathom curves being only 5 to 15 miles. The inner edge of the Gulf Stream is distant 

 from the shore at Winter Quarter Shoal about 100 miles ; at Five-Fathom Bank about 140 miles ; 

 at Nantucket Island about 200 miles, and, therefore, bears no relation to the submerged continental 

 border, north of Cape Hatteras, as determined by the 100-fathom curve. 



Winter Quarter Shoal and Five Fathom Bank light-ships are the two most southern stations 

 on this part of the plateau, and both are favorably situated, the former 8J miles off shore in a 

 depth of 10 fathoms ; the latter 14 miles off shore in a depth of 12 fathoms. The next light-ship 

 to the north is that off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, which is anchored in 14 fathoms of water. Being 

 located directly off the mouth of New York Bay, the surface waters at this station may possibly 

 be influenced to some extent by the outflow from the Hudson Eiver, especially in the early spring 

 after the ice has broken up, but there is no special evidence to that effect. Between Delaware 

 Bay and Ehode Island there are three shore stations, two (Absecon and Fire Island) situated upon 

 tidal inlets, and one (Block Island) upon an ocean beach. The two former have furnished better 

 observations than would ordinarily be considered possible in such places. 



East of Block Island' there are four temperature stations off the southern coast of New Eng- 

 land, all of which are well located. The Brenton's Eeef and Vineyard Sound light-ships belong 

 to the area included between Block Island and Martha's Vineyard. Pollock Eip lightship is at 

 the eastern entrance to Nantucket or Vineyard Sound, and, although surrounded by shoals, is in 

 the midst of strong tidal currents, which are probably not influenced by the neighboring land. 

 Nantucket New South Shoal light-ship occupies one of the most exposed positions on the coast, 

 and is distant over 20 miles from the nearest land. A series of stations like this one, distributed 

 along the entire coast, could be made to furnish most important data respecting the fisheries. 



The Gulf of Maine, in which the remaining stations are located, is a moderately deep basin, 

 surrounded on the west, north, and northeast by land, on the south by George's Bank, and on the 

 east by Brown's Bank, in part, and the shoal water off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. The Bay of 

 Fundy opens into it from the northeast. This area contains many banks and ledges, and the bot- 

 tom contour lines are very irregular. The 50-fathom curve is nowhere distant from the land, and 

 along the northern coast, where most of the stations are situated, approaches close to it. The 100 

 fathom curve is also not very far distant from the Massachusetts coast, and approaches the coast 

 of Maine between Mount Desert and Machias. The most southern station is on Thatcher's Island, 

 off Cape Ann, an important location, though, unfortunately, the observations were taken in too 

 shallow water to make them of value with respect to the open waters of the gulf. Boon Island is 

 in the western part of the gulf, midway between Cape Ann and Portland. Seguin Island, Matini- 

 cus Eock, and Mount Desert Eock are in nearly the same latitude, the first mentioned being near 



