The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

434 THE Marine RevIEw November, 1910 AIDS TO NAVIGATION ON THE PACIFIC COAST N. CONSIDERING the aids to naviga- tion, of father the lack of them, on the Pacific coast, Tue Marine REVIEW will consider the question as a whole under the following heads: (1) Phys- ical description; (2) Traffic; (3) Why the present aids are insufficient; (4) Ef- fect on the development of the Pacific _ coast; (5) Where the trouble lies. As the Pacific coast of North America extends some 14,000 miles, physical divisions will be taken up in turn. The present article will deal with the waters of the coast from Puget Sound northward, in- cluding Alaska. _ The Pacific ocean and its tributaries bound Washington, British Columbia and. Alaska on the west. Washington state lies between the parallels of 45-32 and 49° latitude and the meridians of 116-57 and 124-48 west longitude. The _ territory or district of Alaska comprises the northwest extremity of North Amer- ica, west of the 14lst meridian, and a Sitip of the coast south to 56° of lati- tude, with many small and some large islands. Its area is about 590,000 square miles, and inlets and islands included, the coast line.is about 26,000 miles long. _ From Nome to the farthest point south the coast line may be estimated at 20,- 000 miles. The outermost of the Aleu- tian islands is as far west of Skag- way as that city is west of New York. From the entrance to the strait of Juan de Fuca, northward through Puget sound, past British Columbia -and into Alaska waters, is a coast line as dangerous and difficult as it is unique and beautiful. Puget sound is an arm of the Pacific ocean in- denting the coast of Washington and -connecting the waters on the two sides of Vancouver island. Great Series 'of Islands. North of Puget sound, beginning with Vancouver island, is a series of islands adjoining more or less closely the coast line, and including Queen Charlotte islands, off the coast of British Columbia, and from Dixon's Entrance, at the southernmost point of the Alaskan coast, to the head of "the Lynn canal, a district known as southeastern In a distance of 300 miles included the numerous isl- the coast islands- of Alaska. are here 'pelago. 'the need is great. ands comprising 'the Alexander archi- In the confines of the archi- pelago, bounded on one side by the north arm of North America and on the other by the Pacific ocean, is a series of channels and passes un- equaled in the geography of the world. Contained herein is the Alas- ka port of entry, Juneau, and the sub-ports of Ketchikan, Wragnell, Sit- ka and Skagway. Through this region a vast traffic is and has been carried on. What has the government done to provide safe- ty for the lives of the men and the value of the cargoes that trust them- selves in the routine of their duty to these waters? Practically nothing. On the Pacific coast, comparatively 'speaking, little has been accomplished in the way of aids to navigation, and Some of the prin- cipal points are not even equipped with lights, in fact, at one important port om the. California coast, San Pedro, where the government has just finished a waterbreak costing mil- lions, the steamship company mak- ing regular calls has established and maintains at its own expense, a light and -bell .for the protection of its ships. The condition of the Alaskan coast waters, particularly southeastern Alaska, is deplorable. Why? scope of this article is to set forth the general facts and the therefor. 'A Country of Vast Distances. Physically, Alaska is a country of vast distances, unknown and undevel- oped possibilities. The shores of the Arctic and Bering sea are flat and low, with a broad offing of shallow water and few places where a ship may closely approach the land. The south coast, however, is mountainous, the continuation of the littoral ranges of British Columbia making the sea front and the islands of the archi- pelago. These islands are separated by narrow and deep channels afford- ing an almost unbroken protected waterway from Puget sound to Cross sound.. The precipitous coast is deeply indented with fiords, at. the head of which glaciers come down to the water, and continually give off small bergs. While protected from the ocean it- self, these deep channels are under certain conditions themselves very The reasons dangerous. The passages are ngmer- ous and intricate, and thick weather, fog and snow, are not only frequent, but general, and almost constant in winter. Rocks are numerous and the tidal currents troublesome. Yet, if properly protected, navigation is not difficult, for the soundings are deep and the shores are bold. Everything of Rugged Character. Most of the mountains are high, rough and notched. Nearly all are covered with a dense growth of tim- ber. The hydrographic characteristics forma parallel to the topographical outline. The rugged nature of the rocks and peaks is paralleled by nu- merous reefs and rocks surrounded by deep water, and the general ab- sence of shoals. Many of the main channels and most of the minor ones have only been roughly examined. Detached boulders from the broken shores and pinnacles. of rock are still frequently found unmarked. On the outside coast of British Columbia, off Puget sound and southeastern Alaska, fogs are liable to occur at any time, but are most frequent in July, August and September. Continuous fogs have been recorded lasting from two to ten days. Smoke from the forest fires along the wooded shores often assumes alarming proportions in July, August and September on Puget sound and Georgia strait, and has extended a considerable distance seaward from Cape Flattery and up into southeast- ern Alaska. Smoke, combined with fog, makes a serious and almost ab- solute preventive to navigation uwun- der the present conditions. . Tides vary from 7.7 ft. at Sitka, on the outer ecast, to. 14.5 ft. at Wrangell. . Tidal currents and currents of all velocities are found on the course to Alaska. The commerce of these waters for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, was as follows: Exports, $13,644,884, excluding gold and silver; imports of $19,536,956. Gold and silver exports amounted to $14,897,925. Salmon is the big item of export in the sum of $9,145,250. Aids to Navigation. Such, in brief, are the conditions and the traffic. Now what are the aids to navigation on the route of this traffic to Alaska? The most intricate iS petite Se 2