Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Coral reefs and islands; Geology -- South America; Islands; Volcanoes
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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