Chapter 21

the coast, and the natives offered to haul his boat over the breakers to the sandy beach: Mr. Bennett, in a letter to the Editor of the “Singapore Chron.,” alludes to the _reefs_ on its shores. It may, I think, be safely inferred from these passages that the shore is fringed in parts by coral-reefs; coloured red.—_Sandwich_ Island. The east coast is said (Cook’s “Second Voyage,” volume ii., page 41) to be low, and to be guarded by a chain of breakers. In the accompanying chart it is seen to be fringed by a reef; coloured red.—_Mallicollo_; Forster speaks of the reef-bounded shore: the reef is about thirty yards wide, and so shallow that a boat cannot pass over it. Forster also (“Observations,” page 23) says, that the rocks of the sea-shore consist of madrepore. In the plan of Sandwich harbour, the headlands are represented as fringed; coloured red.—_Aurora_ and _Pentecost_ Islands, according to Bougainville, apparently have no reefs; nor has the large island of _S. Espiritu_, nor _Bligh_ Island or _Banks’_ Islands, which latter lie to the N.E. of the Hebrides. But in none of these cases, have I met with any detailed account of their shores, or seen plans on a large scale; and it will be evident, that a fringing-reef of only thirty or even a few hundred yards in width, is of so little importance to navigation, that it will seldom be noticed, excepting by chance; and hence I do not doubt that several of these islands, now left uncoloured, ought to be red.

SANTA-CRUZ GROUP.—_Vanikoro_ (Figure 1, Plate I.) offers a striking example of a barrier-reef: it was first described by the Chevalier Dillon, in his voyage, and was surveyed in the “Astrolabe”; coloured pale blue.—_Tikopia_ and _Fataka_ Islands appear, from the descriptions of Dillon and D’Urville, to have no reefs; _Anouda_ is a low, flat island, surrounded by cliffs (“‘Astrolabe’ Hydrog.” and Krusenstern, “Mem.” volume ii., page 432); these are uncoloured. _Toupoua_ (_Otooboa_ of Dillon) is stated by Captain Tromelin (“Annales Marit.” 1829, page 289) to be almost entirely included in a reef, lying at the distance of two miles from the shore. There is a space of three miles without any reef, which, although indented with bays, offers no anchorage from the extreme depth of the water close to the shore: Captain Dillon also speaks of the reefs fronting this island; coloured blue.— _Santa-Cruz_. I have carefully examined the works of Carteret, D’Entrecasteaux, Wilson, and Tromelin, and I cannot discover any mention of reefs on its shores; left uncoloured.—_Tinakoro_ is a constantly active volcano without reefs.—_Mendana Isles_ (mentioned by Dillon under the name of _Mammee_, etc.); said by Krusenstern to be low, and intertwined with reefs. I do not believe they include a lagoon; I have left them uncoloured.—_Duff’s_ Islands compose a small group directed in a N.W. and S.E. band; they are described by Wilson (page 296, “Miss. Voy.” 4to edition), as formed by bold-peaked land, with the islands surrounded by coral-reefs, extending about half a mile from the shore; at a distance of a mile from the reefs he found only seven fathoms. As I have no reason for supposing there is deep water within these reefs, I have coloured them red. _Kennedy_ Island, N.E. of Duff’s. I have been unable to find any account of it.

NEW CALEDONIA.—The great barrier-reefs on the shores of this island have already been described (Figure 5, Plate II.). They have been visited by Labillardière, Cook, and the northern point by D’Urville; this latter part so closely resembles an atoll that I have coloured it dark blue. The _Loyalty_ group is situated eastward of this island; from the chart and description given in the “Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” they do not appear to have any reefs; north of this group, there are some extensive low reefs (called _Astrolabe_ and _Beaupré_,) which do not seem to be atoll-formed; these are left uncoloured.

AUSTRALIAN BARRIER-REEF.—The limits of this great reef, which has already been described, have been coloured from the charts of Flinders and King. In the northern parts, an atoll-formed reef, lying outside the barrier, has been described by Bligh, and is coloured dark blue. In the space between Australia and New Caledonia, called by Flinders the Corallian Sea, there are numerous reefs. Of these, some are represented in Krusenstern’s “Atlas” as having an atoll-like structure; namely, _Bampton_ shoal, _Frederic_, _Vine_ or Horse-shoe, and _Alert_ reefs; these have been coloured dark blue.

LOUISIADE: the dangerous reefs which front and surround the western, southern, and northern coasts of this so-called peninsula and archipelago, seem evidently to belong to the barrier class. The land is lofty, with a low fringe on the coast; the reefs are distant, and the sea outside them profoundly deep. Nearly all that is known of this group is derived from the labours of D’Entrecasteaux and Bougainville: the latter has represented one continuous reef ninety miles long, parallel to the shore, and in places as much as ten miles from it; coloured pale blue. A little distance northward we have the _Laughlan_ Islands, the reefs round which are engraved in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” in the same manner as in the encircled islands of the Caroline Archipelago, the reef is, in parts, a mile and a half from the shore, to which it does not appear to be attached; coloured blue. At some little distance from the extremity of the Louisiade lies the _Wells_ reef, described in G. Hamilton’s “Voyage in H.M.S. ‘Pandora’” (page 100): it is said, “We found we had got embayed in a double reef, which will soon be an island.” As this statement is only intelligible on the supposition of the reef being crescent or horse-shoe formed, like so many other submerged annular reefs, I have ventured to colour it blue.

SALOMON ARCHIPELAGO: the chart in Krusenstern’s “Atlas” shows that these islands are not encircled, and as coral appears from the works of Surville, Bougainville, and Labillardière, to grow on their shores, this circumstance, as in the case of the New Hebrides, is a presumption that they are fringed. I cannot find out anything from D’Entrecasteaux’s “Voyage,” regarding the southern islands of the group, so have left them uncoloured.—_Malayta_ Island in a rough MS. chart in the Admiralty has its northern shore fringed.—_Ysabel_ Island, the N.E. part of this island, in the same chart, is also fringed: Mendana, speaking (Burney, volume i., page 280) of an islet adjoining the northern coast, says it is surrounded by reefs; the shores, also of Port Praslin appear regularly fringed.—_Choiseul_ Island. In Bougainville’s “Chart of Choiseul Bay,” parts of the shores are fringed by coral-reefs.— _Bougainville_ Island. According to D’Entrecasteaux the western shore abounds with coral-reefs, and the smaller islands are said to be attached to the larger ones by reefs; all the before-mentioned islands have been coloured red.—_Bouka_ Islands. Captain Duperrey has kindly informed me in a letter that he passed close round the northern side of this island (of which a plan is given in his “Atlas of the ‘Coquille’s’ Voyage”), and that it was “garnie d’une bande de récifs à fleur d’eau adherentes au rivage;” and he infers, from the abundance of coral on the islands north and south of Bouka, that the reef probably is of coral; coloured red.

Off the north coast of the Solomon Archipelago there are several small groups which are little known; they appear to be low, and of coral-formation; and some of them probably have an atoll-like structure; the Chevallier Dillon, however, informs me that this is not the case with the B. de _Candelaria_.—_Outong Java_, according to the Spanish navigator, Maurelle, is thus characterised; but this is the only one which I have ventured to colour blue.

NEW IRELAND.—The shores of the S.W. point of this island and some adjoining islets, are fringed by reefs, as may be seen in the “Atlases of the Voyages of the ‘Coquille’ and ‘Astrolabe’.” M. Lesson observes that the reefs are open in front of each streamlet. The _Duke of York’s_ Island is also fringed; but with regard to the other parts of _New Ireland_, _New Hanover_, and the small islands lying northward, I have been unable to obtain any information. I will only add that no part of New Ireland appears to be fronted by distant reefs. I have coloured red only the above specified portions.

NEW BRITAIN and the NORTHERN SHORE of NEW GUINEA.—From the charts in the “Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” and from the “Hydrog. Memoir,” it appears that these coasts are entirely without reefs, as are the _Schouten Islands_, lying close to the northern shore of New Guinea. The western and south-western parts of New Guinea, will be treated of when we come to the islands of the East Indian Archipelago.

ADMIRALTY GROUP.—From the accounts by Bougainville, Maurelle, D’Entrecasteaux, and the scattered notices collected by Horsburgh, it appears, that some of the many islands composing it, are high, with a bold outline; and others are very low, small and interlaced with reefs. All the high islands appear to be fronted by distant reefs rising abruptly from the sea, and within some of which there is reason to believe that the water is deep. I have therefore little doubt they are of the barrier class.—In the southern part of the group we have _Elizabeth Island_, which is surrounded by a reef at the distance of a mile; and two miles eastward of it (Krusenstern, “Append.” 1835, page 42) there is a little island containing a lagoon.—Near here, also lies _Circular-reef_ (Horsburgh, “Direct.” volume i., page 691, 4th edition), “three or four miles in diameter having deep water inside with an opening at the N.N.W. part, and on the outside steep to.” I have from these data, coloured the group pale blue, and _circular-reef_ dark blue.—the _Anachorites_, _Echequier_, and _Hermites_, consist of innumerable low islands of coral-formation, which probably have atoll-like forms; but not being able to ascertain this, I have not coloured them, nor _Durour_ Island, which is described by Carteret as low.

The CAROLINE ARCHIPELAGO is now well-known, chiefly from the hydrographical labours of Lutké; it contains about forty groups of atolls, and three encircled islands, two of which are engraved in Figures 2 and 7, Plate I. Commencing with the eastern part; the encircling reef round _Ualen_ appears to be only about half a mile from the shore; but as the land is low and covered with mangroves (“Voyage autour du Monde,” par F. Lutké, volume i., page 339), the real margin has not probably been ascertained. The extreme depth in one of the harbours within the reef is thirty-three fathoms (see charts in “Atlas of ‘Coquille’s’ Voyage”), and outside at half a mile distant from the reef, no bottom was obtained with two hundred and fifty fathoms. The reef is surmounted by many islets, and the lagoon-like channel within is mostly shallow, and appears to have been much encroached on by the low land surrounding the central mountains; these facts show that time has allowed much detritus to accumulate; coloured pale blue.— _Pouynipète_, or _Seniavine_. In the greater part of the circumference of this island, the reef is about one mile and three quarters distant; on the north side it is five miles off the included high islets. The reef is broken in several places; and just within it, the depth in one place is thirty fathoms, and in another, twenty-eight, beyond which, to all appearance, there was “un porte vaste et sur” (Lutké, volume ii., page 4); coloured pale blue.—_Hogoleu_ or _Roug_. This wonderful group contains at least sixty-two islands, and its reef is one hundred and thirty-five miles in circuit. Of the islands, only a few, about six or eight (see “Hydrog. Descrip.” page 428, of the “Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” and the large accompanying chart taken chiefly from that given by Duperrey) are high, and the rest are all small, low, and formed on the reef. The depth of the great interior lake has not been ascertained; but Captain D’Urville appears to have entertained no doubt about the possibility of taking in a frigate. The reef lies no less than fourteen miles distant from the northern coasts of the interior high islands, seven from their western sides, and twenty from the southern; the sea is deep outside. This island is a likeness on a grand scale to the Gambier group in the Low Archipelago. Of the groups of low[1] islands forming the chief part of the Caroline Archipelago, all those of larger size, have the true atoll-structure (as may be seen in the “Atlas” by Captain Lutké), and some even of the very small ones, as _Macaskill_ and _Duperrey_, of which plans are given in the “Atlas of the ‘Coquille’s’ Voyage.” There are, however, some low small islands of coral-formation, namely _Ollap_, _Tamatam_, _Bigali_, _Satahoual_, which do not contain lagoons; but it is probable that lagoons originally existed, but have since filled up: Lutké (volume ii., page 304) seems to have thought that all the low islands, with only one exception, contained lagoons. From the sketches, and from the manner in which the margins of these islands are engraved in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Coquille’,” it might have been thought that they were not low; but by a comparison with the remarks of Lutké (volume ii., page 107, regarding Bigali) and of Freycinet (“Hydrog. Memoir ‘L’Uranie’ Voyage,” page 188, regarding Tamatam, Ollap, etc.), it will be seen that the artist must have represented the land incorrectly. The most southern island in the group, namely _Piguiram_, is not coloured, because I have found no account of it. _Nougouor_, or _Monte Verdison_, which was not visited by Lutké, is described and figured by Mr. Bennett (“United Service Journal,” January 1832) as an atoll. All the above-mentioned islands have been coloured blue.

[1] In D’Urville and Lottin’s chart, Peserare is written with capital letters; but this evidently is an error, for it is one of the low islets on the reef of Namonouyto (see Lutké’s charts)—a regular atoll.

WESTERN PART OF THE CAROLINE ARCHIPELAGO.—_Fais_ Island is ninety feet high, and is surrounded, as I have been informed by Admiral Lutké, by a narrow reef of living coral, of which the broadest part, as represented in the charts, is only 150 yards; coloured red.— _Philip_ Island., I believe, is low; but Hunter, in his “Historical Journal,” gives no clear account of it; uncoloured.—_Elivi;_ from the manner in which the islets on the reefs are engraved, in the “Atlas of the ‘Astrolabe’s’ Voyage,” I should have thought they were above the ordinary height, but Admiral Lutké assures me this is not the case: they form a regular atoll; coloured blue.—_Gouap_ (_Eap_ of Chamisso), is a high island with a reef (see chart in “Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’”), more than a mile distant in most parts from the shore, and two miles in one part. Captain D’Urville thinks that there would be anchorage (“Hydrog. Descript. ‘Astrolabe’ Voyage,” page 436) for ships within the reef, if a passage could be found; coloured pale blue.—_Goulou_, from the chart in the “‘Astrolabe’s’ Atlas,” appears to be an atoll. D’Urville (“Hydrog. Descript.” page 437) speaks of the low islets on the reef; coloured dark blue.

PELEW ISLANDS.—Krusenstern speaks of some of the islands being mountainous; the reefs are distant from the shore, and there are spaces within them, and not opposite valleys, with from ten to fifteen fathoms. According to a MS. chart of the group by Lieutenant Elmer in the Admiralty, there is a large space within the reef with deepish water; although the high land does not hold a central position with respect to the reefs, as is generally the case, I have little doubt that the reefs of the Pelew Islands ought to be ranked with the barrier class, and I have coloured them pale blue. In Lieutenant Elmer’s chart there is a horseshoe-formed shoal, laid down thirteen miles N.W. of Pelew, with fifteen fathoms within the reef, and some dry banks on it; coloured dark blue.—_Spanish_, _Martires_, _Sanserot_, _Pulo Anna_ and _Mariere_ Islands are not coloured, because I know nothing about them, excepting that according to Krusenstern, the second, third, and fourth mentioned, are low, placed on coral-reefs, and therefore, perhaps, contain lagoons; but Pulo Mariere is a little higher.

MARIANA ARCHIPELAGO, or LADRONES.—_Guahan_. Almost the whole of this island is fringed by reefs, which extend in most parts about a third of a mile from the land. Even where the reefs are most extensive, the water within them is shallow. In several parts there is a navigable channel for boats and canoes within the reefs. In Freycinet’s “Hydrog. Mem.” there is an account of these reefs, and in the “Atlas,” a map on a large scale; coloured red.—_Rota_. “L’ile est presque entièrement entourée des récifs” (page 212, Freycinet’s “Hydrog. Mem.”). These reefs project about a quarter of a mile from the shore; coloured red.—_Tinian_. The eastern coast is precipitous, and is without reefs; but the western side is fringed like the last island; coloured red.—_Saypan_. The N.E. coast, and likewise the western shores appear to be fringed; but there is a great, irregular, horn-like reef projecting far from this side; coloured red.—_Farallon de Medinilla_, appears so regularly and closely fringed in Freycinet’s charts, that I have ventured to colour it red, although nothing is said about reefs in the “Hydrographical Memoir.” The several islands which form the northern part of the group are volcanic (with the exception perhaps of Torres, which resembles in form the madreporitic island of Medinilla), and appear to be without reefs.—_Mangs_, however, is described (by Freycinet, page 219, “Hydrog.”) from some Spanish charts, as formed of small islands placed “au milieu des nombreux récifs;” and as these reefs in the general chart of the group do not project so much as a mile; and as there is no appearance from a double line, of the existence of deep water within, I have ventured, although with much hesitation, to colour them red. Respecting _Folger_ and _Marshall_ Islands which lie some way east of the Marianas, I can find out nothing, excepting that they are probably low. Krusenstern says this of Marshall Island; and Folger Island is written with small letters in D’Urville’s chart; uncoloured.

BONIN or ARZOBISPO GROUP.—_Peel Island_ has been examined by Captain Beechey, to whose kindness I am much indebted for giving me information regarding it: “At Port Lloyd there is a great deal of coral; and the inner harbour is entirely formed by coral-reefs, which extend outside the port along the coast.” Captain Beechey, in another part of his letter to me, alludes to the reefs fringing the island in all directions; but at the same time it must be observed that the surf washes the volcanic rocks of the coast in the greater part of its circumference. I do not know whether the other islands of the Archipelago are fringed; I have coloured Peel Island red.—_Grampus Island_ to the eastward, does not appear (Meare’s “Voyage,” page 95) to have any reefs, nor does _Rosario Island_ (from Lutké’s chart), which lies to the westward. Respecting the few other islands in this part of the sea, namely the _Sulphur Islands_, with an active volcano, and those lying between Bonin and Japan (which are situated near the extreme limit in latitude, at which reefs are formed), I have not been able to find any clear account.

WEST END OF NEW GUINEA.—_Port Dory_. From the charts in the “Voyage of the ‘Coquille’,” it would appear that the coast in this part is fringed by coral-reefs; M. Lesson, however, remarks that the coral is sickly; coloured red.—_Waigiou_. A considerable portion of the northern shores of these islands is seen in the charts (on a large scale) in Freycinet’s “Atlas” to be fringed by coral-reefs. Forrest (page 21, “Voyage to New Guinea”) alludes to the coral-reefs lining the heads of Piapis Bay; and Horsburgh (volume ii., page 599, 4th edition), speaking of the islands in Dampier Strait, says “sharp coral-rocks line their shores;” coloured red.—In the sea north of these islands, we have _Guedes_ (or _Freewill_, or _St. David’s_), which from the chart given in the 4to edition of Carteret’s “Voyage,” must be an atoll. Krusenstern says the islets are very low; coloured blue.—_Carteret’s Shoals_, in 2° 53′ N., are described as circular, with stony points showing all round, with deeper water in the middle; coloured blue.—_Aiou;_ the plan of this group, given in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” shows that it is an atoll; and, from a chart in Forrest’s “Voyage,” it appears that there is twelve fathoms within the circular reef; coloured blue.—The S.W. coast of New Guinea appears to be low, muddy, and devoid of reefs. The _Arru_, _Timor laut_, and _Tenimber_ groups have lately been examined by Captain Kolff, the MS. translation of which, by Mr. W. Earl, I have been permitted to read, through the kindness of Captain Washington, R.N. These islands are mostly rather low, and are surrounded by distant reefs (the Ki Islands, however, are lofty, and, from Mr. Stanley’s survey, appear without reefs); the sea in some parts is shallow, in others profoundly deep (as near Larrat). From the imperfection of the published charts, I have been unable to decide to which class these reefs belong. From the distance to which they extend from the land, where the sea is very deep, I am strongly inclined to believe they ought to come within the barrier class, and be coloured blue; but I have been forced to leave them uncoloured.—The last-mentioned groups are connected with the east end of Ceram by a chain of small islands, of which the small groups of _Ceram-laut_, _Goram_ and _Keffing_ are surrounded by very extensive reefs, projecting into deep water, which, as in the last case, I strongly suspect belong to the barrier class; but I have not coloured them. From the south side of Keffing, the reefs project five miles (Windsor Earl’s “Sailing Direct. for the Arafura Sea,” page 9).

CERAM.—In various charts which I have examined, several parts of the coast are represented as fringed by reefs.—_Manipa_ Island, between Ceram and Bourou, in an old MS. chart in the Admiralty, is fringed by a very irregular reef, partly dry at low water, which I do not doubt is of coral-formation; both islands coloured red.—_Bourou;_ parts of this island appear fringed by coral-reefs, namely, the eastern coast, as seen in Freycinet’s chart; and _Cajeli Bay_, which is said by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 630) to be lined by coral-reefs, that stretch out a little way, and have only a few feet water on them. In several charts, portions of the islands forming the AMBOINA GROUP are fringed by reefs; for instance, _Noessa_, _Harenca_, and _Ucaster_, in Freycinet’s charts. The above-mentioned islands have been coloured red, although the evidence is not very satisfactory.—North of Bourou the parallel line of the _Xulla Isles_ extends: I have not been able to find out anything about them, excepting that Horsburgh (volume ii., page 543) says that the northern shore is surrounded by a reef at the distance of two or three miles; uncoloured.—_Mysol Group;_ the Kanary Islands are said by Forrest (“Voyage,” page 130) to be divided from each other by deep straits, and are lined with coral-rocks; coloured red.—_Guebe_, lying between Waigiou and Gilolo, is engraved as if fringed; and it is said by Freycinet, that all the soundings under five fathoms were on coral; coloured red.—_Gilolo_. In a chart published by Dalrymple, the numerous islands on the western, southern (_Batchian_ and the _Strait of Patientia_), and eastern sides appear fringed by narrow reefs; these reefs, I suppose, are of coral, for it is said in “Malte Brun” (volume xii., page 156), “Sur les cotes (of Batchian) comme _dans le plupart_ des iles de cet archipel, il y a de rocs de medrepores d’une beauté et d’une variété infinies.” Forrest, also (page 50), says Seland, near Batchian, is a little island with reefs of coral; coloured red.—_Morty_ Island (north of Gilolo). Horsburgh (volume ii., page 506) says the northern coast is lined by reefs, projecting one or two miles, and having no soundings close to them; I have left it uncoloured, although, as in some former cases, it ought probably to be pale blue.—_Celebes_. The western and northern coasts appear in the charts to be bold and without reefs. Near the extreme northern point, however, an islet in the _Straits of Limbe_, and parts of the adjoining shore, appear to be fringed: the east side of the bay of _Manado_, has deep water, and is fringed by sand and coral (“‘Astrol.’ Voyage,” Hydrog. Part, pages 453-4); this extreme point, therefore, I have coloured red.—Of the islands leading from this point to Magindanao, I have not been able to find any account, except of _Serangani_, which appears surrounded by narrow reefs; and Forrest (“Voyage,” page 164) speaks of coral on its shores; I have, therefore, coloured this island red. To the eastward of this chain lie several islands; of which I cannot find any account, except of _Karkalang_, which is said by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 504) to be lined by a dangerous reef, projecting several miles from the northern shore; not coloured.

ISLANDS NEAR TIMOR.—The account of the following islands is taken from Captain D. Kolff’s “Voyage,” in 1825, translated by Mr. W. Earl, from the Dutch.—_Lette_ has “reefs extending along shore at the distance of half a mile from the land.”—_Moa_ has reefs on the S.W. part.—_Lakor_ has a reef lining its shore; these islands are coloured red.—Still more eastward, _Luan_ has, differently from the last-mentioned islands, an extensive reef; it is steep outside, and within there is a depth of twelve feet; from these facts, it is impossible to decide to which class this island belongs.—_Kissa_, off the point of Timor, has its “shore fronted by a reef, steep too on the outer side, over which small proahs can go at the time of high water;” coloured red.—_Timor;_ most of the points, and some considerable spaces of the northern shore, are seen in Freycinet’s chart to be fringed by coral-reefs; and mention is made of them in the accompanying “Hydrog. Memoir;” coloured red.—_Savu_, S.E. of Timor, appears in Flinders’ chart to be fringed; but I have not coloured it, as I do not know that the reefs are of coral.— _Sandalwood_ Island has, according to Horsburgh (volume ii., page 607), a reef on its southern shore, four miles distant from the land; as the neighbouring sea is deep, and generally bold, this probably is a barrier- reef, but I have not ventured to colour it.

N.W. COAST OF AUSTRALIA.—It appears, in Captain King’s Sailing Directions (“Narrative of Survey,” volume ii, pages 325-369), that there are many extensive coral-reefs skirting, often at considerable distances, the N.W. shores, and encompassing the small adjoining islets. Deep water, in no instance, is represented in the charts between these reefs and the land; and, therefore, they probably belong to the fringing class. But as they extend far into the sea, which is generally shallow, even in places where the land seems to be somewhat precipitous; I have not coloured them. Houtman’s Abrolhos (latitude 28° S. on west coast) have lately been surveyed by Captain Wickham (as described in “Naut. Mag.” 1841, page 511): they lie on the edge of a steeply shelving bank, which extends about thirty miles seaward, along the whole line of coast. The two southern reefs, or islands, enclose a lagoon-like space of water, varying in depth from five to fifteen fathoms, and in one spot with twenty-three fathoms. The greater part of the island has been formed on their inland sides, by the accumulation of fragments of coral; the seaward face consisting of nearly bare ledges of rock. Some of the specimens, brought home by Captain Wickham, contained fragments of marine shells, but others did not; and these closely resembled a formation at King George’s Sound, principally due to the action of the wind on calcareous dust, which I shall describe in a forthcoming part. From the extreme irregularity of these reefs with their lagoons, and from their position on a bank, the usual depth of which is only thirty fathoms, I have not ventured to class them with atolls, and hence have left them uncoloured.—_Rowley Shoals_. These lie some way from the N.W. coast of Australia: according to Captain King (“Narrative of Survey,” volume i., page 60), they are of coral-formation. They rise abruptly from the sea, and Captain King had no bottom with 170 fathoms close to them. Three of them are crescent-shaped; they are mentioned by Mr. Lyell, on the authority of Captain King, with reference to the direction of their open sides. “A third oval reef of the same group is entirely submerged” (“Principles of Geology,” book iii. chapter xviii.); coloured blue.—_Scott’s Reefs_, lying north of Rowley Shoals, are briefly described by Captain Wickham (“Naut. Mag.” 1841, page 440): they appear to be of great size, of a circular form, and “with smooth water within, forming probably a lagoon of great extent.” There is a break on the western side, where there probably is an entrance: the water is very deep off these reefs; coloured blue.

Proceeding westward along the great volcanic chain of the East Indian Archipelago, _Solor Strait_ is represented in a chart published by Dalrymple from a Dutch MS., as fringed; as are parts of _Flores_, of _Adenara_, and of _Solor_. Horsburgh speaks of coral growing on these shores; and therefore I have no doubt that the reefs are of coral, and accordingly have coloured them red. We hear from Horsburgh (volume ii., page 602) that a coral-flat bounds the shores of _Sapy_ Bay. From the same authority it appears (page 610) that reefs fringe the island of _Timor-Young_, on the N. shore of Sumbawa; and, likewise (page 600), that _Bally_ town in _Lombock_, is fronted by a reef, stretching along the shore at a distance of a hundred fathoms, with channels through it for boats; these places, therefore, have been coloured red.—_Bally_ Island. In a Dutch MS. chart on a large scale of Java, which was brought from that island by Dr. Horsfield, who had the kindness to show it me at the India House, its western, northern, and southern shores appear very regularly fringed by a reef (see also Horsburgh, volume ii., page 593); and as coral is found abundantly there, I have not the least doubt that the reef is of coral, and therefore have coloured it red.

JAVA.—My information regarding the reefs of this great island is derived from the chart just mentioned. The greater part of _Madura_ is represented in it as regularly fringed, and likewise portions of the coast of Java immediately south of it. Dr. Horsfield informs me that coral is very abundant near _Sourabaya_. The islets and parts of the N. coast of Java, west of _Point Buang_, or _Japara_, are fringed by reefs, said to be of coral. _Lubeck_, or _Bavian_ Islands, lying at some distance from the shore of Java, are regularly fringed by coral-reefs. _Carimon Java_ appears equally so, though it is not directly said that the reefs are of coral; there is a depth between thirty and forty fathoms round these islands. Parts of the shores of _Sunda_ Strait, where the water is from forty to eighty fathoms deep, and the islets near _Batavia_ appear in several charts to be fringed. In the Dutch chart the southern shore, in the narrowest part of the island, is in two places fringed by reefs of coral. West of _Segorrowodee_ Bay, and the extreme S.E. and E. portions are likewise fringed by coral-reefs; all the above-mentioned places coloured red.

_Macassar Strait_; the east coast of _Borneo_ appears, in most parts, free from reefs, and where they occur, as on the east coast of _Pamaroong_, the sea is very shallow; hence no part is coloured. In _Macassar_ Strait itself, in about latitude 2° S., there are many small islands with coral-shoals projecting far from them. There are also (old charts by Dalrymple) numerous little flats of coral, not rising to the surface of the water, and shelving suddenly from five fathoms to no bottom with fifty fathoms; they do not appear to have a lagoon-like structure. There are similar coral-shoals a little farther south; and in latitude 4° 55′ there are two, which are engraved from modern surveys, in a manner which might represent an annular reef with deep water inside: Captain Moresby, however, who was formerly in this sea, doubts this fact, so that I have left them uncoloured: at the same time I may remark, that these two shoals make a nearer approach to the atoll-like structure than any other within the E. Indian Archipelago. Southward of these shoals there are other low islands and irregular coral-reefs; and in the space of sea, north of the great volcanic chain, from Timor to Java, we have also other islands, such as the _Postillions_, _Kalatoa_, _Tokan-Bessees_, &c., which are chiefly low, and are surrounded by very irregular and distant reefs. From the imperfect charts I have seen, I have not been able to decide whether they belong to the atoll or barrier-classes, or whether they merely fringe submarine banks, and gently sloping land. In the Bay of _Bonin_, between the two southern arms of Celebes, there are numerous coral- reefs; but none of them seem to have an atoll-like structure. I have, therefore, not coloured any of the islands in this part of the sea; I think it, however, exceedingly probable that some of them ought to be blue. I may add that there is a harbour on the S.E. coast of _Bouton_ which, according to an old chart, is formed by a reef, parallel to the shore, with deep water within; and in the “Voyage of the ‘Coquille’,” some neighbouring islands are represented with reefs a good way distant, but I do not know whether with deep water within. I have not thought the evidence sufficient to permit me to colour them.

SUMATRA.—Commencing with the west coast and outlying islands, _Engano Island_ is represented in the published chart as surrounded by a narrow reef, and Napier, in his “Sailing Directions,” speaks of the reef being of coral (also Horsburgh, volume ii., page 115); coloured red.—_Rat Island_ (3° 51′ S.) is surrounded by reefs of coral, partly dry at low water, (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 96).—_Trieste Island_ (4° 2′ S.). The shore is represented in a chart which I saw at the India House, as fringed in such a manner, that I feel sure the fringe consists of coral; but as the island is so low, that the sea sometimes flows quite over it (Dampier, “Voyage,” volume i., page 474), I have not coloured it.—_Pulo Dooa_ (latitude 3°). In an old chart it is said there are chasms in the reefs round the island, admitting boats to the watering-place, and that the southern islet consists of a mass of sand and coral.—_Pulo Pisang;_ Horsburgh (volume ii., page 86) says that the rocky coral-bank, which stretches about forty yards from the shore, is steep to all round: in a chart, also, which I have seen, the island is represented as regularly fringed.—_Pulo Mintao_ is lined with reefs on its west side (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 107).—_Pulo Baniak;_ the same authority (volume ii., page 105), speaking of a part, says it is faced with coral-rocks.—_Minguin_ (3° 36′ N.). A coral-reef fronts this place, and projects into the sea nearly a quarter of a mile (“Notices of the Indian Arch.” published at Singapore, page 105).—_Pulo Brassa_ (5° 46′ N.). A reef surrounds it at a cable’s length (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 60). I have coloured all the above-specified points red. I may here add, that both Horsburgh and Mr. Moor (in the “Notices” just alluded to) frequently speak of the numerous reefs and banks of coral on the west coast of Sumatra; but these nowhere have the structure of a barrier-reef, and Marsden (“History of Sumatra”) states, that where the coast is flat, the fringing-reefs extend furthest from it. The northern and southern points, and the greater part of the east coast, are low, and faced with mud banks, and therefore without coral.

NICOBAR ISLANDS.—The chart represents the islands of this group as fringed by reefs. With regard to _Great Nicobar_, Captain Moresby informs me, that it is fringed by reefs of coral, extending between two and three hundred yards from the shore. The _Northern Nicobars_ appear so regularly fringed in the published charts, that I have no doubt the reefs are of coral. This group, therefore, is coloured red.

ANDAMAN ISLANDS.—From an examination of the MS. chart, on a large scale, of this island, by Captain Arch. Blair, in the Admiralty, several portions of the coast appear fringed; and as Horsburgh speaks of coral-reefs being numerous in the vicinity of these islands, I should have coloured them red, had not some expressions in a paper in the “Asiatic Researches” (volume iv., page 402) led me to doubt the existence of reefs; uncoloured.

The coast of _Malacca_, _Tenasserim_ and the coasts northward, appear in the greater part to be low and muddy: where reefs occur, as in parts of _Malacca Straits_, and near _Singapore_, they are of the fringing kind; but the water is so shoal, that I have not coloured them. In the sea, however, between Malacca and the west coast of Borneo, where there is a greater depth from forty to fifty fathoms, I have coloured red some of the groups, which are regularly fringed. The northern _Natunas_ and the _Anambas_ Islands are represented in the charts on a large scale, published in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Favourite’,” as fringed by reefs of coral, with very shoal water within them.—_Tumbelan_ and _Bunoa_ Islands (1° N.) are represented in the English charts as surrounded by a very regular fringe.— _St. Barbes_ (0° 15′ N.) is said by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 279) to be fronted by a reef, over which boats can land only at high water.—The shore of _Borneo_ at _Tunjong Apee_ is also fronted by a reef, extending not far from the land (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 468). These places I have coloured red; although with some hesitation, as the water is shallow. I might perhaps have added _Pulo Leat_, in Gaspar Strait, _Lucepara_, and _Carimata;_ but as the sea is confined and shallow, and the reefs not very regular, I have left them uncoloured.

The water shoals gradually towards the whole west coast of _Borneo:_ I cannot make out that it has any reefs of coral. The islands, however, off the northern extremity, and near the S.W. end of _Palawan_, are fringed by very distant coral-reefs; thus the reefs in the case of _Balabac_ are no less than five miles from the land; but the sea, in the whole of this district, is so shallow, that the reefs might be expected to extend very far from the land. I have not, therefore, thought myself authorised to colour them. The N.E. point of Borneo, where the water is very shoal, is connected with Magindanao by a chain of islands called the _Sooloo Archipelago_, about which I have been able to obtain very little information; _Pangootaran_, although ten miles long, entirely consists of a bed of coral-rock (“Notices of E. Indian Arch.” page 58): I believe from Horsburgh that the island is low; not coloured.—_Tahow Bank_, in some old charts, appears like a submerged atoll; not coloured. Forrest (“Voyage,” page 21) states that one of the islands near Sooloo is surrounded by coral-rocks; but there is no distant reef. Near the S. end of _Basselan_, some of the islets in the chart accompanying Forrest’s “Voyage,” appear fringed with reefs; hence I have coloured, though unwillingly, parts of the Sooloo group red. The sea between Sooloo and Palawan, near the shoal coast of Borneo, is interspersed with irregular reefs and shoal patches; not coloured: but in the northern part of this sea, there are two low islets, _Cagayanes_ and _Cavilli_, surrounded by extensive coral-reefs; the breakers round the latter (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 513) extend five or six miles from a sandbank, which forms the only dry part; these breakers are steep to outside; there appears to be an opening through them on one side, with four or five fathoms within: from this description, I strongly suspect that Cavilli ought to be considered an atoll; but, as I have not seen any chart of it, on even a moderately large scale, I have not coloured it. The islets off the northern end of _Palawan_, are in the same case as those off the southern end, namely they are fringed by reefs, some way distant from the shore, but the water is exceedingly shallow; uncoloured. The western shore of Palawan will be treated of under the head of China Sea.

PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO.—A chart on a large scale of _Appoo shoal_, which lies near the S.E. coast of Mindoro, has been executed by Captain D. Ross: it appears atoll-formed, but with rather an irregular outline; its diameter is about ten miles; there are two well-defined passages leading into the interior lagoon, which appears open; close outside the reef all round, there is no bottom with seventy fathoms; coloured blue.—_Mindoro:_ the N.W. coast is represented in several charts, as fringed by a reef, and _Luban Island_ is said, by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 436), to be “lined by a reef.”—_Luzon:_ Mr. Cuming, who has lately investigated with so much success the Natural History of the Philippines, informs me, that about three miles of the shore north of Point St. Jago, is fringed by a reef; as are (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 437) the Three Friars off Silanguin Bay. Between Point Capones and Playa Honda, the coast is “lined by a coral-reef, stretching out nearly a mile in some places,” (Horsburgh); and Mr. Cuming visited some fringing- reefs on parts of this coast, namely, near Puebla, Iba, and Mansinglor. In the neighbourhood of Solon-solon Bay, the shore is lined (Horsburgh ii., page 439) by coral-reefs, stretching out a great way: there are also reefs about the islets off Solamague; and as I am informed by Mr. Cuming, near St. Catalina, and a little north of it. The same gentleman informs me there are reefs on the S.E. point of this island in front of Samar, extending from Malalabon to Bulusan. These appear to be the principal fringing-reefs on the coasts of Luzon; and they have all been coloured red. Mr. Cuming informs me that none of them have deep water within; although it appears from Horsburgh that some few extend to a considerable distance from the shore. Within the Philippine Archipelago, the shores of the islands do not appear to be commonly fringed, with the exception of the S. shore of _Masbate_, and nearly the whole of _Bohol;_ which are both coloured red. On the S. shore of _Magindanao_, Bunwoot Island is surrounded (according to Forrest, “Voyage,” page 253), by a coral-reef, which in the chart appears one of the fringing class. With respect to the eastern coasts of the whole Archipelago, I have not been able to obtain any account.

BABUYAN ISLANDS.—Horsburgh says (volume ii., page 442), coral-reefs line the shores of the harbour in Fuga; and the charts show there are other reefs about these islands. _Camiguin_ has its shore in parts lined by coral-rock (Horsburgh, page 443); about a mile off shore there is between thirty and thirty-five fathoms. The plan of Port San Pio Quinto shows that its shores are fringed with coral; coloured red.—BABUYAN ISLANDS: Horsburgh, speaking of the southern part of the group (volume ii., page 445) says the shores of both islands are fortified by a reef, and through some of the gaps in it, the natives can pass in their boats in fine weather; the bottom near the land is coral-rock. From the published charts, it is evident that several of these islands are most regularly fringed; coloured red. The northern islands are left uncoloured, as I have been unable to find any account of them.—FORMOSA. The shores, especially the western one, seem chiefly composed of mud and sand, and I cannot make out that they are anywhere lined by reefs; except in a harbour (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 449) at the extreme northern point: hence, of course, the whole of this island is left uncoloured. The small adjoining islands are in the same case.— PATCHOW, or MADJIKO-SIMA GROUPS. _Patchuson_ has been described by Captain Broughton (“Voy. to the N. Pacific,” page 191); he says, the boats, with some difficulty, found a passage through the coral-reefs, which extend along the coast, nearly half a mile off it. The boats were well sheltered within the reef; but it does not appear that the water is deep there. Outside the reef the depth is very irregular, varying from five to fifty fathoms; the form of the land is not very abrupt; coloured red.—_Taypin-san;_ from the description given (page 195) by the same author, it appears that a very irregular reef extends, to the distance of several miles, from the southern island; but whether it encircles a space of deep water is not evident; nor, indeed, whether these outlying reefs are connected with those more immediately adjoining the land; left uncoloured. I may here just add that the shore of _Kumi_ (lying west of Patchow), has a narrow reef attached to it in the plan of it, in La Peyrouse’s “Atlas;” but it does not appear in the account of the voyage that it is of coral; uncoloured.—LOO CHOO. The greater part of the coast of this moderately hilly island, is skirted by reefs, which do not extend far from the shore, and which do not leave a channel of deep water within them, as may be seen in the charts accompanying Captain B. Hall’s voyage to Loo Choo (see also remarks in Appendix, pages xxi. and xxv.). There are, however, some ports with deep water, formed by reefs in front of valleys, in the same manner as happens at Mauritius. Captain Beechey, in a letter to me, compares these reefs with those encircling the Society Islands; but there appears to me a marked difference between them, in the less distance at which the Loo Choo reefs lie from the land with relation to the probable submarine inclination, and in the absence of an interior deep water-moat or channel, parallel to the land. Hence, I have classed these reefs with fringing-reefs, and coloured them red.—PESCADORES (west of Formosa). Dampier (volume i., page 416), has compared the appearance of the land to the southern parts of England. The islands are interlaced with coral-reefs; but as the water is very shoal, and as spits of sand and gravel (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 450) extend far out from them, it is impossible to draw any inferences regarding the nature of the reefs.

CHINA SEA.—Proceeding from north to south, we first meet the _Pratas Shoal_ (latitude 20° N.) which, according to Horsburgh (volume ii., page 335), is composed of coral, is of a circular form, and has a low islet on it. The reef is on a level with the water’s edge, and when the sea runs high, there are breakers mostly all round, “but the water within seems pretty deep in some places; although steep-to in most parts outside, there appear to be several parts where a ship might find anchorage outside the breakers;” coloured blue.—The _Paracells_ have been accurately surveyed by Captain D. Ross, and charts on a large scale published: but few low islets have been formed on these shoals, and this seems to be a general circumstance in the China Sea; the sea close outside the reefs is very deep; several of them have a lagoon-like structure; or separate islets (_Prattle_, _Robert_, _Drummond_, etc.) are so arranged round a moderately shallow space, as to appear as if they had once formed one large atoll.— _Bombay Shoal_ (one of the Paracells) has the form of an annular reef, and is “apparently deep within;” it seems to have an entrance (Horsburgh,