Admiralty Surveys During the Year 1904 Author(S): A
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Admiralty Surveys during the Year 1904 Author(s): A. Mostyn Field Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jul., 1905), pp. 75-76 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1776653 Accessed: 27-06-2016 02:50 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Geographical Journal This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 02:50:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ( 75 ) ADMIRALTY SURVEYS DURING THE YEAR 1904. By Captain A. MOSTYN FIELD, R.N., F.R.S., Hydrographer. UNDER the orders of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, eight of His Majesty's vessels, with three small hired steam-vessels, manned by an aggregate of 76 officers and 740 men, have been employed on hydrographical surveys on various stations at home and abroad. The following is a brief summary of the work accomplished, as detailed in the report prepared for presentation to Parlia- ment : REports of 482 rocks and shoals which were dangerous to navigation have been received at the Hydrographic Department, and were notified to the public through Notices to Mariners; 1139 miles of coast have been charted, and an area of 3993 square miles has been sounded. Around Great Britain various surveys were made. In English waters, at Portsmouth and Plymouth, much close resurveying was done in areas which had been recently dredged. At Dover some careful observa- tions of the tidal streams were obtained. Various re-examinations in the ever- changing Thames estuary were carried out; the Shingles patch was found to have the same depth over it, namely 9 feet, as in 1902, with signs of extension towards the north-west. Further experiments were continued with the manometer, a pneumatic tide apparatus, which it is hoped may eventually lead to the production of a reliable self-recording instrument. Torbay was resurveyed, and also the western channels of the Scilly Isles with their approaches. In Irish waters, the survey of Youghal harbour, commenced last year, was resumed and completed. In Scottish waters, Inverie bay, Loch Nevis, Ballachulish bay, Loch Linnhe, and Rothesay bay were surveyed. The surveys of Loch Kishorn and the entrance of Loch Carron were partly made, ani will be completed, it is anticipated, next year; a survey of the eound of Mull was begun, and Inver Scadle bay, Loch Aber, was examined. The weather in the summer of 1904 for Scotland was exceptionally fine. In Newfoundland waters, an exhaustive and unsuccessful search was made over an area of 350 square miles to ascertain the position of a reported 10-fathom bank, which was searched for in 1892 without success. The slrvey of the south- eastern portion of the Bay of Exploits was resumed. In British Columbian waters, the survey of the area lying between Ballinac islands and Active pass was finished. Nanaimo harbour and Departure bay were resurveyed. A large-scale plan of Nanaimo harbour, commenced last year, was finished. Plans were also made of Oyster harbour, Active pass, and Dodds and False narrows. A rock reported to exist at the northern entrance to B-aynes sound was searched for without success. On the West Coast of Africa, surveys were made of Opobo river bar and approaches, with a sketch-survey of the river between Opobo and Egwanga, the new Government station; of the Brass river and approaches; and of the Nun river entrance and approaches as far as Akassa. At the river Gambia entrance lositions of buoys were verified. In the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Corinth as far north as Vurko bay, embracing the approaches to Dragamesti bay, was surveyed, and a large-scale plan was made of Plateali bay (Platea). In the China seas two vessels were at work. The survey of Mirs bay, near This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 02:50:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 76 REVIEWS. Hong Kong, was resumed at Double Haven and Starling inlet, and was completed. The survey of Port Shelter, which is between Hong Kong and Mirs bay, was begun. The survey of Amoy harbour on a large scale, begun last year, was finished, and of the approaches to Amoy, including Quemoy port. The survey of the British sphere of influence on the Shantung coast was resumed and finished, and a plan was made of WaDgkia bay. In Borneo a survey was made of Gaya and its approaches, with plans of Jesselton (now the terminus of the railway) and of Tega channel. In Australasian waters, on the east coast of North island, New Zealand, 61 miles of coast-line has been surveyed, from East cape to Gable-end foreland, and soundings were obtained over an area of 802 square miles in the vicinity of this coast; 91 miles of coast has been surveyed in Hauraki gulf, from Tiri Tiri Matangi to Tawharanui point, and soundings were obtained over an area of 228 square miles. In South island, New Zealand, the approaches to Westport and Buller bay, and the approaches to Awarua or Bluff harbour, were surveyed, a large-scale plan being made of the Bluff. In Indian waters, the surveying ship maintained by the Government continued the survey of the Arakan coast, finishing that portion included between Asirgarh shoal and the south point of Western Baronga; Hinze basin and a portion of the coast of Andaman island remaining from last year's work being surveyed, also Mayu river and a plan of Akyab. The approaches to the proposed ship canal through Rameswaram island were surveyed, while the surveys of Stewart island, in the Audamans, and various harbours in the Persian gulf are in progress. Daring 1904 the Hydrographic Department has published 113 charts and plans, and 60 new plans have been added to the existing plates. The number of charts printed to meet demands has, during the year, amounted to 661,590. REVIEWS. AFRICA. GEOLOGY OF TUNIS. 'Etude geologique de la Tunisie Centrale.' By L. Pervinquiere. Paris: F. R. de Rudeval. 1903. THIS elaborate monograph is a solid contribution to the geology of North Africa, a subject which is being enthusiastically studied by French geologists, and has, in consequence, a rapidly growing literature. It is supplementary to a description of the physical geography of the district by the same author, published a few years ago, and contains a useful map on the scale of 1: 200,000, and a full bibliography. The rocks are principally Cretaceous and Tertiary, but older beds are known also (Trias and Jurassic), and there are igneous masses of unknown age. Elaborate details are given of the exposures examined, with lists of the fossils collected; and, as very little was previously known of considerable parts of the district, the book is likely to be for some time the principal authority on the subject of which it treats. This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 02:50:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms.