Geography and Travel. 159 
the eastern entrance of the Santa Barbara channel ; there are one or 
two off the southern point of Carmel Bay, while the deepest one 
reaches far into the bay. Near Cape Mendocino, just north of a sub- 
marine ridge extending from Point Delgada to Shelter Cove, is a 
deep valley which breaks through the marginal plateau and runs 
sharply into the immediate coast line. The head of this valley, at 
oue and one quarter miles from shore, is 100 fathoms deep ; where 
it breaks through the 100 fathom line it is 400 fathoms deep. The 
slopes of the sides are very steep. Midway between this and Point 
Gorda is another valley 150 to 300 fathoms deep, reaching 520 
fathoms where it breaks through the 100 fathom line. Another 
valley between Point Gorda and Cape Mendocino is 450 fathoms 
deep at a point six and one half miles southwest by south from the 
cape. This valley is a wide one; with green mud at its bottom. 
EXPLORATIONS ON THE YuKON.—Dr. G. M. Dawson and 
party left Victoria in May last with the object of exploring 
the tributaries of the Upper Yukon. He proceeded up the 
Stikine River as far as Dease Lake, and when, on June 18th, 
the ice broke up, went down the Dease River and into the 
forks of the Dease and the Liard. Mr. McConnell here separated 
from the party with the purpose of descending and surveying the 
Liard and Mackenzie, and will probably winter at Fo 
Simpson, on the latter river. Dr. Dawson went up the Liard and 
Frances Rivers to Frances Lake, which drains into the Liard ; 
then made a portage of fifty miles to the Pelly River, which they 
descended to the confluence of the Pelly and Lewis; and then 
ascended the Lewis, crossing the .Chileot portage to the head of 
Lynn Canal. 
GEOGRAPHICAL NeEws.—Mr. Cuthbertson has reached the 
summit of Mount Obree, one of the culminating peaks of the Owen | 
Stanley range. He makes it only 8000 feet high, instead of 
10,246, as was determined by angular measurements taken by the 
tlesnake expedition. He states that at 2,500 feet above the sea 
he passed the point reached by Messrs. Hunter and Hartmann. 
The population of New Zealand in March, 1886, exclusive of 
Maoris, was 578,482, an increase of 33,549 over that of 1881. 
The figures include 4,527 Chinese, only 15 of whom are women. 
= Maoris number 41,969, and 2,254 half castes living with the 
aoris, 
M. Marche has paid a visit to Saipan, in the Marianne Toe 
No trace of a volcano or volcanic rocks, such as have been reported, 
was found, and Tapochas, the highest peak, was by barometrical 
