Coast of Patagonia
We have been standing, during the day, across the great Bay of St Matthias; as the place is unsurveyed we heave to at night: — The weather has been beautiful but too light; the mild warm climate & blue sky is most throughily enjoyed by all of us after our boisterous cruize in the South. What we saw of the coast consisted entirely in horizontal cliffs; in these, the divisions of the strata run for miles together exactly parallel to the surface of the sea. — It looks an El Dorado to a Geologist; such modern formations must contain so many organic remains. We reached St Josephs Bay, this is a grand circular expanse of water, opening by a narrow mouth into St Matthias, the crook of land which forms it is a remarkable feature in a chart of the coast of Patagonia. — It was expected that Mr Wickham would have been here, but to our sorrow, & more especially to the French passengers, who are very anxious to arrive at M: Video, the little Schooners were not to be seen. The wind being very light & a strong tide setting into the bay, we were obliged to let go a stream anchor. This gave me a most delightful opportunity of taking a glimpse at the cliffs. — They abounded with fossil shells & were in many respects very curious & interesting. My visit was so short that there was only time to see how much was missed. At night, as soon as the tide turned, the anchor was weighed & we proceeded in pursuit of Mr Wickham. —
We have been standing, during the day, across the great Bay of St Matthias; as the place is unsurveyed we heave to at night: — The weather has been beautiful but too light; the mild warm climate & blue sky is most throughily enjoyed by all of us after our boisterous cruize in the South. What we saw of the coast consisted entirely in horizontal cliffs; in these, the divisions of the strata run for miles together exactly parallel to the surface of the sea. — It looks an El Dorado to a Geologist; such modern formations must contain so many organic remains. We reached St Josephs Bay, this is a grand circular expanse of water, opening by a narrow mouth into St Matthias, the crook of land which forms it is a remarkable feature in a chart of the coast of Patagonia. — It was expected that Mr Wickham would have been here, but to our sorrow, & more especially to the French passengers, who are very anxious to arrive at M: Video, the little Schooners were not to be seen. The wind being very light & a strong tide setting into the bay, we were obliged to let go a stream anchor. This gave me a most delightful opportunity of taking a glimpse at the cliffs. — They abounded with fossil shells & were in many respects very curious & interesting. My visit was so short that there was only time to see how much was missed. At night, as soon as the tide turned, the anchor was weighed & we proceeded in pursuit of Mr Wickham. —
No comments:
Post a Comment