  This paper presents multicolor data obtained for a 1.7 square degree region
near the South Galactic Pole (patch B) as part of the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS).
So far the observations have been conducted in B,V and I but are expected to be
complemented by observations in the U band later in 1998. Object catalogs
extracted from single exposure images are 80% complete down to B~24, V~23.5 and
I ~22.5 and once coadded should reach about 0.5 mag deeper. The data are being
made public in the form of catalogs, pixel maps, target lists and image
"postage stamps" which can be retrieved from the Web. Counts of stars and
galaxies and the angular two-point correlation function of galaxies are
computed and compared to other available data to evaluate the depth and
uniformity of the extrtacted object catalogs. In addition, color distributions
of stellar objects are presented and compared to model predictions to examine
the reliability of the colors. The results suggest that the overall quality of
the catalogs extracted from the images is good and suitable for the science
goals of the survey.
