the south side of an earth dyke. There is a beacon just north of the outer end of the dyke and a light about 100 yards beyond the beacon. There are lights on Grassy Point and on the easterly point at the entrance to the Mermentau River. From the Collicon Lake canal entrance, steer about NW. by W. (mag.), passing about half a mile off the first point to the northward and about the same distance off Umbrella Point, the second point to northward. From Umbrella Point, steer about NW. (mag.) so as to pass about 1/4 mile east of Grassy Point and when beyond this point haul to westward and pass well off the easterly point at the entrance to the Mermentau River, which is marked by a light. About half a mile up the Mermentau River, the Intracoastal Waterway leads eastward and a mile farther leads to the westward. The river channel is deep.

MERMENTAU RIVER TO CALCASIEU RIVER

Westward of the Mermentau River, the Intracoastal Waterway follows a land cut in a westerly direction, passing north of Lake Misere and southwest of Sweet Lake, thence northwesterly to Black Bayou and through Black Bayou to Calcasieu River, a distance of about 33 miles. The Black Bayou channel has been straightened by numerous cut-offs. The junctions of the waterway with the Mermentau and Calcasieu rivers, as well as with connecting channels into Lake Misere and Sweet Lake, are marked by beacons. The waterway follows the Calcasieu River northward and westward around Devils Elbow for about 2 miles into the Lake Charles Canal, which branches to the southwestward 1 mile below Moss Lake.

There is a highway cable ferry 612 miles east of the Calcasieu River and 1 mile east of the river a power ferry has replaced a previous highway bridge. When replaced, the bridge will have a 75-foot horizontal clearance.

Directions. None are necessary other than the above.

The western end of this portion of the Intracoastal Waterway is shown on the recently published new chart No. 592.

The Calcasieu River and the port of Lake Charles are described on pages 278-279.

CALCASIEU RIVER TO SABINE RIVER

(Chart 592)

This section of the Intracoastal Waterway follows the Lake Charles Canal, a land cut leaving the Calcasieu River a mile below Moss Lake and joining the Sabine River about 3 miles below the port of Orange, Tex., a distance of about 22 miles. For 22 miles this cut runs in a southwesterly direction and thence due west to the Sabine River. At the end of the land cut, the route passes to the southward of two islands and then turns south into the Sabine River. Two cable ferries cross the canal, 24 and 111⁄2 miles, respectively, west of the Calcasieu River.

Directions. No directions are necessary other than the above.

This section of the Intracoastal Waterway is shown on the recently published new chart No. 592.

(29) SABINE PASS AND TRIBUTARIES

SABINE RIVER TO PORT ARTHUR

(Charts 533 and 517)

269

This section of the Intracoastal Waterway follows the deep-water channels of the Sabine River, the Sabine-Neches Canal and the Port Arthur Ship Canal to Port Arthur. These waterways are described under Sabine Pass and Tributary Waters, page 269.

From the Lake Charles Canal, the waterway follows the Sabine River for 6 miles and the Sabine-Neches Canal for 141⁄2 miles to the north end of the Port Arthur Ship Canal opposite the entrance to Taylor Bayou, where a land cut branches westward toward Galveston. The city of Port Arthur is 3 miles above Taylor Bayou.

Distances along the Intracoastal Waterway between the Mississippi River and the Sabine River are given below:

For information regard the Intracoastal Waterway westward of Port Arthur, see page 285.

29. SABINE PASS AND TRIBUTARY WATERS INCLUDING PORT ARTHUR, BEAUMONT, AND LAKE CHARLES

(Charts Nos. 517, 533, and 592)

Sabine Pass (Chart 517), lying about 243 miles westward of Southwest Pass, Mississippi River, and 50 miles east-northeastward of Galveston entrance, is the approach from the Gulf of Mexico to Sabine Lake, Sabine and Neches Rivers, and the cities of Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Orange, and Beaumont. Sabine Pass, Lake, and River together form the boundary between the States of Louisiana and Texas for a distance of 275 miles northward from the Gulf. The entrance is obstructed by a bar, which has been improved by the construction of two nearly parallel jetties, extending about 312 miles in a southerly direction from shore and having a clear width

between them of 1,700 feet. Sabine Pass and connecting channels constitute an extensive deep-waterway system leading inland as far as Beaumont, Tex., and Lake Charles, La. The general depths between the jetties, outside of the channel, are 8 to 16 feet (2.4 to 4.9 m). The improved channel has a depth of 35 feet (10.7 m) across the bar and between the jetties, 32 feet (9.8 m) to and up the Neches River to Beaumont, and 30 feet (9.1 m) to Orange and Lake Charles.

The channel through the pass is marked by three lighted ranges and by numerous other aids. Sabine Pass Outer Range marks the approach channel to the entrance between the jetties. Two miles off the end of the jetties, Sabine Pass Lighted Whistle Buoy 1 marks the west side of this channel and, 1 mile off the jetties, Sabine Pass Lighted Bell Buoy 2 marks the east side of the channel. The channel between the jetties is marked by Sabine Pass Jetty Channel Range and the first reach inside the jetties is marked by the Inner Range.

Prominent features.-The most prominent object when approaching Sabine Pass by day is the pilot station on the west jetty. It is a white building on a steel skeleton foundation and can be seen for a considerable distance. The east jetty light and the entrance range lights are also rather prominent. Other conspicuous objects are the Sabine Pass Lighthouse, the Coast Guard station below the village of Sabine, the oil tanks west of Sabine Pass, and a 400-foot stack at Port Arthur.

Sabine Pass East Jetty Light, on the south end of the jetty, is flashing white light with red sector, on a red, square, skeleton structure on piles on a concrete block, 50 feet (15.2 m) high, and visible for 10 miles. The red sector shows eastward of 349° true. The fog signal is maintained from November 1 to April 30, and is a bell rung continuously 1 stroke every 20 seconds.

Sabine Pass Lighthouse (Lat. 29°43′.0; Long. 93°51′.0) is a black and white horizontally banded octagonal tower on the east side of the pass, 41⁄2 miles 342° true (NNW. 14 W. mag.) from the end of the jetties. The light is fixed white, varied by a white flash 84 feet (25.6 m) above the water, and visible 15 miles. There is a radiobeacon at the lighthouse; see Light List and H. O. publication No. 205. Inside the jetties the pass extends in a northwesterly direction for about 6 miles to Sabine Lake, and has a least width of over onefourth mile; but numerous shoals contract the navigable channel to a least width of about 300 feet. The bottom outside of the channel for the most part is soft, and vessels can touch upon it without injury; but there are occasional patches of oyster bars, dangerous to vessels striking them. There is an extensive oyster bar on the east side of the channel, opposite the village of Sabine, and a smaller one, on the same side, opposite the village of Sabine Pass.

The pass affords excellent anchorage for small vessels and is used as a harbor of refuge by small coasting vessels during the winter months.

Above Sabine Pass there is an extensive system of deep waterways leading inland as far as Beaumont, Tex., and Lake Charles, La. The project dimensions for the improvement of these waterways are given in the following table; the present (1935) existing

(29) PORT ARTHUR SHIP CANAL

271

dimensions are shown in parentheses. The mileage from the Sabine Jetties entrance is also shown.

Sabine is a village and post office on the west shore of the pass, about 5 miles above the outer end of the jetties. The former shipping facilities at this place have been discontinued. The southerly of the two old slips is used as a small boat harbor.

Sabine Pass, a small village and post office on the west shore of the pass about 112 miles above Sabine, is of some commercial importance as a crude petroleum shipping point.

Sabine Lake is about 15 miles long and has an average depth of about 6 feet (1.8 m). At the southern end where it empties into Sabine Pass there is an unimproved bar with a depth of 4 feet (1.2 m). The Lake can also be entered from the Sabine-Neches Canal or through East Pass at the mouth of the Sabine River. Opposite Light 7 there is an opening in the spoil bank with a depth of 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m). The depth through East Pass is about 3 feet (0.9 m). The lake is of little commercial importance.

Johnson Bayou, in the extreme southwestern part of Louisiana, empties into the southeastern part of Sabine Lake, directly east of Port Arthur. The bayou has been improved by dredging, and is now navigable for a draft of 6 feet (1.8 m) for about 41⁄2 miles to the settlement of Johnson Bayou, La. A highway now connects the settlement with Sulphur and the bayou is little used.

Port Arthur Ship Canal extends from Sabine Pass to the entrance to Taylor Bayou, a distance of 6 miles. It is 31 feet (9.5 m) deep and has a bottom width of 250 feet. The canal is separated from the western shore of Sabine Lake by a narrow strip of land. The entrance to the canal is marked by a flashing red light on the north side of the channel and there is a flashing white light on the west side of the pass about 500 yards south of the entrance. Three flash

ing white lights on the southwest side of the channel about 800 yards apart mark the bend in the channel opposite Keith Lake which is separated from the canal by a dam.

Port Arthur (population 50,902 by the 1930 census) is an important oil shipping point. Its principal industrial development is on Taylor Bayou, along the southwestern outskirts of the city and is sometimes known as West Port Arthur. Two railway systems connect the city with Beaumont and improved highways extend to Beaumont and to Galveston. A depth of 31 feet (9.5 m) can be carried from Port Arthur to the Gulf.

Port Arthur has a considerable trade, both foreign and domestic, in crude petroleum and its refined products. There is also some commerce in wheat, lumber, iron and steel products, and general merchandise.

Terminal Facilities.-Immediately inside of Taylor Bayou, there are two adjoining turning basins, the easterly 420 by 1,800 feet long and the westerly 325 by 1,700 feet long. The extensive facilities of the Texas Oil Co., with 3,000 feet of docking space, extend along the east side of the easterly basin. At the upper end of the basin are the general cargo facilities of the Port Arthur Canal & Dock Co. There are extensive warehouses and sheds and a total docking space of 6,500 feet in two slips. There is a grain elevator with a capacity of 550,000 bushels and a large cotton wharf. Along the north side of the western basin there is a lumber wharf 1,765 feet long with a small coal pier at the eastern end.

About a mile farther up the bayou, there is a third turning basin 2,900 feet long by 1,000 feet wide at the outer end and 150 feet wide at the upper end. The extensive oil-handling facilities of the Gulf Refining Co., with 3,000 feet of docking space, are located along the northeast side of this basin.

All the above facilities have both rail and highway connections. They are all privately owned and the oil terminals are generally used only for company business.

Dockage.-Vessels tied up at the wharves of the Port Arthur Canal & Dock Co. or made fast to a vessel so berthed, are charged dockage at the rate of 1 cent per gross ton per day or fraction thereof when not receiving or discharging any cargo.

Towboats and ocean-going tugs are available at Port Arthur.

Supplies and Repairs. Provisions and general supplies can be obtained at the numerous stores in Port Arthur. Only a very limited supply of marine hardware is available. The oil companies carry their own stock of supplies and equipment.

Fresh water of good quality can be secured alongside the wharves or can be delivered in barges. Both oil companies have oil bunkering facilities with a loading rate of 4,000 to 5,000 barrels per hour. Only a small quantity of coal is kept on hand but larger quantities can be secured by previous arrangements.

There are no marine ways or major marine repair plants at Port Arthur. A machine shop, a welding shop, and a foundry are available.

Radio. The radio station WPA of the Radiomarine Corporation handles a general commercial business.