,."ANCOUVER ISLAND.] The southern coast con sists of perpendicular sandy cliffs of moderate elevation, from which the land gradually rises towards the craggy mountains of interior. About 70 miles from the mouth of the strait is a long low sandy point which forme a good anchoring-ground ; aud beyond this is a deep bay about 9 miles across, and S miles from its eastern point is Protection Island, so named by Vancouver from its position at the entrance to Port Discovery. Immediately beyond Port Discovery is Port Hudson, an equally safe and good though somewhat smaller harbour: Van couver and Wilkes unite in describing these as among the very finest harbours on the western coast of North America. Beyond this har bour is a deep inlet named Admiralty Inlet, which soon divides into two arms—the smaller one, named Hood's Canal, bearing to the south west, and stretching far into the interior ; while the main arm pro ceeds duo south for about 40 miles, where it terminates in a broad sound named Puget's Sound. Both these branches afford good anchorage, bnt Puget'a Sound is broken by several inlets, and affords the greatest possible security and ample space. Vancouver speaks of these harbours and the contiguous country in such terms as might suggest the suspicion that he bad been carried away by the ardent feelings of a discoverer ; but Mr. Wilkes, the commander of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, fully corroborates all that Vancouver bad asserted : he rays, that " nothing can exceed the beauty of them waters and their ;safety : not a shoal exists within the straits of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, l'uget's Sound, or Hood's Canal, that can iu any way interrupt their navigation by a 74-gun ship. I venture nothing in saying there is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these." It is around Puget's Sound that the com merce of the territory is chiefly establishing itself. Numerous settlements have been already formed along its shores. The tides rise 13 feet in Puget's Sound. The sound is full of islands, and receives several small rivers.
Like Oregon, this territory is naturally divided into three nearly parallel districts, determined by the course of the mountain ranges : a western, or coast section ; the middle section, lying between the Cascade and the Blue Mountains; and the Rocky Mountains region.
The western section lies between the Cascade Mountains and the sea, and is much broken in surface, being intersected by spurs from the Cascade Mountains. The greater part of this section is covered with forests of lofty trees; pines often occur from 200 to 300 feet in height, and of corresponding girth, and some of the pines rise to a height of 200 feet without a branch. The most prevalent trees besides pines aro firs, oak, ash, spruce, cedars, arbor-vitce, Sc, with a dense under growth of hazels, roses, &c. The hills are generally of basalt, and some, like Mount Olympus, near Juan de Fuca Strait, are of consider able altitude. The soil is in Parts a light brown loam, in others a light vegetable mould with a sandy and gravelly subsoil. Generally it has considerable fertility. The river-bottoms afford good farming land, the prairies and the uplands excellent pasture-ground. The climate is mild and salubrious, though somewhat moist ; the winters are short, and snow seldom lies long on the ground. Game abounds.
The Cascade Mountains continue, as in Oregon, in a generally northern direction, and about 150 miles from the coast. Their highest cones rise to an altitude of upwards of 13,000 feet, and they form a barrier of very difficult passage between the western and middle sections of the territory. The country between the Cascade and Blue Ranges is wider than the corresponding district in Oregon. Between the Snake and the Flathead or Clarke rivers is a plain, or rather a rolling prairie, which extends nearly 200 miles in length and 100 tulles • across in its widest part. Tim soil is arinaceous, and the country little fitted for tillage ; but the plain is covered with a good grass, and will afford pasturage for immense flocks and herds. The river-bottoms have an alluvial soil of various quality, but generally productive. Tho hills are comparatively bare of wood, and infertile. The climate of this middle section is cooler, drier, and more salubrious than in the western section ; but the varieties of temperature are much greater. No dew falls here.