Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Coral reefs and islands; Geology -- South America; Islands; Volcanoes
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account