60 GABRIEL CHANNEL. Feb. 1827- 



The rock, of course, decomposes equally on both sides ; but 

 on that exposed to the south wind, it breaks off in flakes 

 parallel to the direction of the strata, and therefore does not 

 make the course of the beach more irregular; while on the other 

 side it moulders away transversely to the direction of the dip, 

 leaving holes, in which water lodges, and hastens decomposition 

 by entering deeply into the interstices. Water, air, and frost 

 decompose the rock, and form a soil, which, if not too much 

 exposed to the wind, is soon occupied by vegetation. 



The rugged faces of the cliffs, on the southern shore, caused 

 by the rock decomposing across the grain, collect sand and 

 mud ; and hence it happens that anchorages are frequently 

 found on one side, whilst, on the other, the anchor will not 

 hold, from the steepness of the ground ; there being nothing 

 upon the smooth declivity to retain mud and sand before it 

 gets to the bottom ; which, in most cases known to me, lies far 

 beyond the reach of the anchor. 



After a tedious and difficult passage through the Gabriel 

 Channel, we anchored in a snug harbour within the entrance 

 of Magdalen Channel, on the west side, under a peaked hill 

 called by Sarmiento ' El Vernal," — in our plan, the ' Sugar- 

 loaf."* The entrance is about a quarter of a mile wide ; but 

 after a few hundred yards the harbour opens, extending in for 

 nearly a mile. It is of easy depth ; seven fathoms in the 

 entrance, and four, five, and six fathoms within ; 150 that it is 



