IMPROVEMENT OF THE KARACHI HARBOUR. 135 



remains the question of whether the comparatively rapid extension, 

 which has taken place in late years, is merely an incident in the 

 normal course of affairs, or how far the works undertaken for the im- 

 provement of the harbour may have accelerated, or altered, the normal 

 course of natural processes. For the solution of this question, which 

 forms one of the principal objects of this memoir, it is necessary to 

 commence with a consideration of the history of the Karachi harbour 

 and the works undertaken for its improvement. • 



2. — The improvement of the Karachi harbour and its effect 



at Clifton. 



The harbour of Karachi forms part of an extensive backwater 

 which, at high tide, measures some 7 or 8 miles from NE. to SW. and 

 about 4 miles in a direction transverse to this. It is shut off from 

 the sea, firstly by a sand spit joining the land to the west with the 

 rocky point of Manora, once doubtless an island ; and secondly by the 

 Keamari island, which appears to consist solely of sand, partly thrown 

 up by the sea, partly blown up by the wind into sandhills. On either 

 side of this island are the two original outlets of the harbour ; the 

 western, passing under Manora, being the principal one, while the 

 eastern, known as the Chinna creek, between Keamari island and 

 Clifton, was always a subsidiary one and is now completely closed. 



Such was the condition of the harbour at the time of the conquest 

 of Sind ; this extensive backwater was filled and emptied at every tide 

 and the channels formed by the scour had attained a certain amount 

 of fixity, accompanied by frequent changes in detail, such as is found 

 where the power developed by currents of water has been brought into 

 equilibrium with the work to be done. The first of the works under- 

 taken for the improvement of Karachi harbour was the connection of 

 Keamari island, off which the deep-water anchorage lay, with the 

 mainland by a continuous embankment, known as the Napier mole, 

 which was completed in 1850. Before this mole was built ships had 

 to lie off Keamari and unload into small boats, by which the cargo 

 was brought up to Karachi at high tide, for the island of Keamari was 

 only accessible at low tide by traversing a stretch of mud flats ; the 



( 3 ) 



