1 242 CANADIAN CHANNEL-TONAWANDA-DIRECTIONS. the foot of Tonawanda Island, marked by two red buoys on the west side. Directions down the river from Tonawanda.-Keep to the eastward of mid-stream until Edgewater channel is reached, which is 200 feet wide, 1,000 feet long, and 12 feet deep, marked by three red and three black spar buoys. Then keep to the westward of midstream until the foot of Cayuga Island is reached, when-if Schlossers Landing is desired-steer direct for the buoys marking the entrance to the channel on the east side of the river; or, if Navy Island is the objective point, keep to the westward of mid-stream, passing between the buoys at the foot of Buckhorn Island. The channel around Navy Island is in mid-stream. Canadian Channel.-After passing through the International Bridge draw steer to the northwestward, passing between buoys No. 8 and No. 9; then keep slightly to the southward and westward of mid-stream until abreast of Beaver Island, where a mid-channel course leads between buoys No. 6 and No. 7 and clear of a shoal which reaches out from the Canadian shore halfway across the river. Continue nearly mid-stream and pass close southward of black spar buoy No. 5; then alter course to the northward, passing between buoys No. 3 and No. 4, and proceed in mid-channel until Eagle Park is reached, after passing which the best depth of water will be found on the east side of the river. Pass between buoys No. 1 and No. 2 and keep on the east side of the river for about 1 mile, whence a midchannel course leads between Navy Island and the Canadian shore to Chippawa Landing, 1 mile below which the rapids leading to Niagara Falls begin. Niagara River below the Falls has been described under Lake Ontario. Welland Canal is described in Chapter XV. CHAPTER X. LAKE ERIE-BUFFALO TO CLEVELAND. Buffalo to Dunkirk, N. Y.-From Stony Point, the southerly terminus of the Buffalo breakwater system, the coast trends southerly for 3 miles and is obstructed within the mile limit by shallow patches, including a dumping ground. About 3 miles southerly of Stony Point the coast assumes the general trend of west southwest, which, with some southerly recessions and slight irregularities, continue to longitude 82° 30′, about 3 miles east of Huron, the most southerly point on the lake. The hydrography along this entire reach is generally of a uniform character, with no shoals (except Senaca Shoal) at any great distance offshore, and the land varies from a low character to moderate bluffs of 60 to 120 feet elevation. The courses between ports are well out in deep water and there are no natural obstacles which would render navigation specially hazardous. Seneca Shoal, about 4 miles westerly from the east shore of the lake at the turn in trend above mentioned and about 3 miles off the adjacent southerly shore, is about one-half mile in extent north and south and east and west within the 18-foot curve. It has a least depth of 13 feet at its northerly edge, which lies 44 miles (SW. W.) from the South Buffalo South Side Light. Light buoy.—The shoal is marked on its northwest edge by a black buoy, showing an occulting white light. Buffalo Approach Light Buoy, perpendicularly striped black and white, showing an occulting white light, is moored in about 10 fathoms of water in Lake Erie at a point about midway between Point Abino and Sturgeon Point and about 13 miles southwest of Buffalo north entrance. From the bend south of Stony Point, in the first stretch of 12 miles terminating at Sturgeon Point, the general direction is southwest by west and the 4-fathom curve is nowhere farther than 1,500 yards offshore. Between Sturgeon Point and Silver Creek the distance is about 12 miles, the trend changes to southwest by south, and the hydrography is less regular. Westerly off Big Sister Creek, about 2 miles from Sturgeon Point, is a bowlder shoal having least depth of 4 feet and with its outer edge 14 miles out. Between Cattaraugus Creek and Silver Creek a stony bank extends 1 mile from shore. From 244 DUNKIRK CAUTION-DUNKIRK TO ERIE. Silver Creek the coast runs about southwest by west to Dunkirk, distance about 10 miles, and the shoal water extends about 1,500 yards from the shore. Dunkirk, with a population of 20,000, has extensive warehouses, foundries, machine shops, and railroad workshops. It is favorably situated in close proximity to the coal, iron, and oil fields of Pennsylvania. Harbor. The harbor was naturally a simple indentation of the shore of Lake Erie between Battery Point on the east and Point Gratiot on the west; these two points are about 9,600 feet apart, and the indentation within the line of the headlands is about 3,600 feet. The general depth in the bay was originally about 8 feet, underlying rock being found at from 13 to 14 feet. Improvements. The object of the harbor improvements has been to form an artificially protected harbor in the indentation, with a depth suitable for vessels drawing 16 feet. Pier and breakwater.-The west pier is 1,410 feet long, extending 60° (NE. by E. E.) from the shore on the east side of Point Gratiot. It is a timber-crib structure, much of which is in very bad repair, and it has concrete superstructures on three sections aggregating 730 feet in length. The detached breakwater has a channel arm beginning opposite and about 260 feet from the end of the pier, and bearing 108° (SE. by E. E.) for 560 feet, parallel to the entrance channel; thence the main breakwater extends 2,241 feet 63° (ENE. E.), being located in from 1 to 5 feet of water, from 2,300 to 2,600 feet out from the shore and closely paralleling the same. The breakwater is a timber-crib structure, the timber superstructure of which is badly wrecked; it has 310 feet of concrete superstructure at its eastern end. Channel and basin.-The entrance channel leading between the pier and the breakwater is 200 feet wide, gradually increasing to 350 feet at its junction with the northwest corner of the harbor basin. The harbor basin, trending 79° (E. N.), is 2,400 feet long and 1,000 feet wide along the entire dock front except at the west end. Buoys.-Outer buoy, No. 2, a red nun, marks the western side of the entrance to the dredged channel. Three red spar buoys, Nos. 4, 6, and 8, mark the southwestern side of the channel within the west pier. A black spar buoy, No. 1, marks the northern side of the inner end of the dredged channel. On account of the rock bottom there is poor anchorage in the basin and the shallow water does not permit mooring to the breakwater. There being no east breakwater the basin is exposed to severe wave action during easterly storms. Caution.-Vessels entering the harbor should avoid the submerged jutting rock bank on the starboard hand. In September, 1918, the channel conditions were as follows: On shoal across outer part of entrance channel, lakeward from the pierhead light, minimum depth 12 feet; inner part of channel along buoys 4, 6, and 8, depth of 16 feet in the southerly half and 14 feet in the northerly half. Thence through the harbor basin to the Central Avenue Pier, 12 feet depth, except that off the end of the pier the depth was 10 feet. Central Avenue Pier, along the east side for the outer half of its length has 16 feet decreasing to 10 feet, and for the inner half of its length 10 feet decreasing to 5 feet, along the west side of the pier, for the outer half of its length, 13 feet decreasing to 11 feet, and for the inner half of its length 11 feet decreasing to 6 feet. Dunkirk Light, fixed white, with a bright flash, 82 feet above water, visible 17 miles, is shown from a gray stone tower on Point Gratiot. Dunkirk Pierhead Light.-Fixed red, 41 feet above water, visible 8 miles, is shown on a pyramidal tower on the outer end of West Pier. Storm warnings.-Day and night signals are displayed from a steel tower on the triangle between Eagle Street Dock and Scully Lumber Dock on the lake front. City regulations.-Masters of vessels should obtain a copy of the city regulations on or previous to arrival and carefully comply with them. Dunkirk, N. Y., to Erie, Pa.-Between Gratiot Point and Van Buren Point, 43 miles southwestward, there is a rocky bank extending out 1 mile from the shore, about 14 miles from the latter point. From Van Buren Point the coast has a general direction of southwest by west for about 13 miles to Chautauqua Creek, and is clear to within five-eighths mile or less. Barcelona, N. Y., at the mouth of Chautauqua Creek, is a small fishing station, and the creek is navigable only for rowboats and small sailboats. From Barcelona the coast trends about southwest by west for about 28 miles to Erie Harbor, and the intermediate shore has no shoals with one-half mile of the beach. State boundary.-The New York-Pennsylvania State line is about 93 miles from the mouth of Chautauqua Creek. Presque Isle Peninsula is an irregularly shaped body, rounding on its lakeward side, connected with the mainland only by a narrow neck at the west end and broadening toward the east, forming the nearly landlocked harbor of Erie with entrance from the east. The lake face may be approached to one-half mile. 246 PRESQUE ISLE LIGHTS-ERIE HARBOR. It is low, sandy, and covered with trees and bushes. It is much indented on the southern side and contains several lakes. Presque Isle Light, alternately flashing red and white, visible 12 and 16 miles, 73 feet above water, is shown from a white, square tower, about 1 mile west of the peninsula's most northerly point. Presque Isle fog whistle, on the northeasterly shore of the peninsula, 11⁄2 miles easterly from the light, sounds a fog signal. Erie, Pa., with a population of 94,000, is a city of considerable commercial importance. Communications. It has steamer connections with all lake ports, and extensive rail connections. Industries.—Its leading industries are steel and iron works, oil refineries, tanneries, flour mills, and wood products. It exports coal, oil, iron, and factory products. Harbor. In its original condition this harbor, formed by Presque Isle Peninsula, was nearly landlocked, the only entrance being from the east. It was liable to serious injury by the lake washing through the peninsula at its narrowest part, the Neck, near where it joins the mainland at the west end. The entrance channel was narrow and tortuous, variable in position, and with a depth of only 6 feet. The works of improvement have embraced protection of the peninsula by pile and stonework at the neck and cultivating plant growth thereon, and building jetties along the lake side to arrest the movement of sand; construction of the breakwater and piers on the eastern side of the bay, which confine the flow of water into and out of the bay to a single channel through the shallows fronting this outlet; and dredging when and where necessary to secure and maintain a depth of 20 feet. Breakwater and piers.-The north section of the breakwater is entirely buried in sand, and about 1,500 feet of the south section is maintained, the remainder being abandoned as now unnecessary. The south pier at the entrance bearing 64° 30' (ENE. E.), is a timber and concrete structure, 2,215 feet long, all beyond the shore line. The north pier, bearing 62° 15′ east-northeast, also a timber and concrete structure, is 3,246 feet long, projecting beyond the shore line. The piers are 360 feet apart near their inner ends, where the channel is narrowest. Vessels are not allowed to moor to the piers, but there is practically an unlimited amount of good anchorage room in the bay. Channel and basin.-The entrance channel from deep water in the bay to deep water in the lake is maintained to a depth of 20 feet for a width of 300 feet. The lake end of the channel is not stable and requires frequent dredging, the last work having been completed August, 1920. An examination, made in August, 1920, showed a |