50 PETKOLEUM OF PACIFIC COAST OF ALASKA. [bull. 250. 
COKD BAY PETROLEUM FIELD. 
GEOGRAPHY. 
Cold Bay is situated on the south shore of the Alaska Peninsula 
at the southwest end of Shelikof Strait and opposite the west end of 
Kodiak Island. (Sec map, PI. I.) It may be reached by steamer 
from Seattle either direct or by transfer at Valcles or Kodiak, or 
from Dutch Harbor. From Seattle the time is about fifteen days; 
from Yaldes, four. It may also be reached from Bristol Bay by a 
canoe and portage route across the peninsula. 
The southern shore of the Alaska Peninsula is very sinuous, with 
deep indentations and long rugged forelands. Cold Bay, one of th 
best of the harbors, is roughly triangular in shape, about 10 miles Ion 
by 7 miles wide at the mouth, and contains a very large area of deep 
water. (See map, PI. VI.) The surrounding country consists of an 
elevated upland with gently rounded or flat-topped hills rising above 
it, and its general level is about 750 feet above tide. The higher peaks 
rise to an elevation of about 1,500 feet, but farther back from the 
coast, in the central part of the peninsula, are mountains 5,000 feet or 
more in height. Among these is the volcano Peulik (about 5,000 
feet) , situated on the western shore of the southern arm of BecharoJ 
Lake, about 35 miles Avest of Cold Bay. This is one of the chain of 
volcanoes which extends the entire length of the Alaska Peninsula 
and the Aleutian Islands. 
The streams emptying into Cold Bay and into the other bays in the 
vicinity are short and swift, carrying no very large amount of water. 
It is a striking fact that in this part of the peninsula the divide be- 
tween the Pacific drainage and the Bering Sea drainage is situated in 
close proximity to the southern shore. For example, near Cold Bay, 
where the peninsula has a total width of about 90 miles, the divide is 
nowhere more than 10 miles from the southern shore, and is, in some 
cases, within a mile or two of the heads of the bays. These short, 
swift streams are characteristic of the entire southern slope of the 
peninsula. 
The northern slope of the peninsula, on the other hand, is drained 
by a comparatively small number of fairly large rivers, which empty 
either into shallow bays or directly into the sea. All of these rivers 
have lakes at their headwaters or along their courses. Lake Becharof. 
the head of which is situated about 15 miles from the landing at Cold 
Bay, is one of the largest. The presence of such lakes and rivers 
throughout almost the entire area of the peninsula makes navigation 
in canoes or other small boats very easy, and almost all travel is 
accomplished in this way. 
Timber is entirely lacking in this region, the only trees being a fe\A 
small cottonwoods, willows, and scrub alders along the banks of tin 
