Buzzard's bay, extending to the north-east between the main shore of NIas-sachusetts and Elizabeth islands and Barnstable peninsula, is more extensive, but rnuch less navigable than that of Narragansett. The extreme head of Buzzard's bay reaches within 7 miles of Sandwich harbour, in Cape Cod bay. Here is one of the points where a canal has long been projected to unite the two bays, and to facilitate tke coasting-, or, correctly speak ing., inland navigation of ihe United States. The depth of water, and smallness of the tides in Buzzard's bay, seems, however, to preclude any very beneficial improve ment as a channel of commercial intercourse.
Cape Cod, stretching near 40 miles directly into the Atlantic ocean, and then protruding an arm of ahnost equal length, encloses a wide circular bay. This bay may, nevertheless, be viewed as extending to Capc Ann, 45° N. N. W. from Cape Cod. With such extension, this bay would reach from Barnstable to Salem, 65 miles, with a mean width of 20 miles. This large bay con tains, besides many of smaller note, the harbours of Ply mouth, Boston, and Salem, though receiving no water course, the sources of which are 20 nines inland. The small streams 'lowing into Narragansett bay, and into thc Concord branch of Alerrimac river, interlock within less than twenty miles south-west from Boston.
The Merrimac, rising in the White mountains of New Hampshire at North Lat. 44° 10', flows south south-east, by comparative courses, about 100 miles, turns abruptly to north-east by north 25 miles, falls into the Atlantic Ocean 20 rniles due north from Salem. The 1\ lerrimac basin is about 130 miles in length by a mean width of 36 miles, embracing an arca of 4350 square miles. The navigation of this river has been more improven by art than any other stream of the United States. Those im provements will be noticed under the head of canals.
The flourishing town of Newburyport stands at the mouth of the Alerrimac, and vessels of 100 tons ascend to Haverhill, 12 miles above the former place. The tides are arrested near Haverhill by the rapid ascent of the interior country ; all navigation beyond, to Concord, bas been effected by human labour.
From some cause hitherto not very satisfactorily ex plained, Cape Cod forms a remarkable point of separation between the Atlantic tides. To the south-west of that peninsula the tides become more and more moderate, but here at once an excessive change takes place. In
Buzzard's bay the tides do not exceed 4a feet, whilst in that of Cape Cod they amount to 17 or 18 feet perpen dicular, and increase, advancing to the north-east, until in the bay of Fundy the ocean swells pour on the coast with the enormous weight of upwards of 60 feet. This peculiar circumstance renders the rivers more navigable, upon an equal descent, to the north-east, than to the south-west of Cape Cod, though the rapid acclivity of the former section of country compensates in a great mea sure for the natural advantage of such excessive tides. Another advantage is, however, gained by the high swell, and depression of the north•eastern tides, that is, to render the rivers much less liable to be frozen over in winter.
The small basin of Piscataqua, enclosed between those of Merrimac and Saco, gains celebrity from pos sessing the fine haven of Poi tsmouth in New Hampshire. It is otherwise unimportant, and becomes unnavigable at a short distance from the head of Great Bay. Flom the extreme rapidity of the ebb and flow of the tides, the i.vater in Portsmouth harbour is never so much frozen as to obstruct navigation to any great extent. The hasin of the Piscataqua embraces an area of about 800 square miles.
The Saco heads in the White mountains, interlocking with the sources of the Alerrimac, Connecticut, and the Androscoggin branch of the Kennebec. This river is only navigable by sea vessels 7 miles, to the head of tide water at Biddeford. Its basin is about 65 miles in length, by a mean width of 25 miles, comprising an area of up wards of 1600 square miles.
The basin of Presumscot or Casco follows that of Saco. The former, though inferior in extent, is never theless, in a navigable point of view, of superior conse quence to the latter. The Presumscot river has its sources between those of Saco and the Androscoggin, and after a comparative course of 50 miles falls into Casco Bay at Falmouth, opposite to Portland in Alaine. The basin of the Presumscot is about 50 miles long from north-west to south-east, with a mean width of 10 miles, comprising an area of about 500 square miles. Here again the tides are arrested by the approaching high country, and reach but a small distance into the Pre sumscot.