Coral Reefs; Volcanic Islands; South American Geology — CompleteDarwin, Charles
Science
Coral Reefs; Volcanic Islands; South American Geology — Complete
Darwin, Charles
Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Coral reefs and islands; Geology -- South America; Islands; Volcanoes
Williams and Mr.
Ellis inform me that this island has an attached reef; coloured red. It
is described by Cook under the name of Oheteroa: he says it is not
surrounded, like the neighbouring islands by a reef; he must have meant
a distant reef.—_Toubouai_; in Cook’s chart (“Second Voyage,” vol. ii,
p. 2) the reef is laid down in part one mile, and in part two miles
from the shore. Mr. Ellis (“Polynes. Res.” vol. iii, p. 381) says the
low land round the base of the island is very extensive; and this
gentleman informs me that the water within the reef appears deep;
coloured blue.—_Raivaivai_, or Vivitao; Mr. Williams informs me that
the reef is here distant: Mr. Ellis, however, says that this is
certainly not the case on one side of the island; and he believes that
the water within the reef is not deep; hence I have left it
uncoloured.—_Lancaster_ Reef, described in _ Naut. Mag._, 1833 (p.
693), as an extensive crescent-formed coral-reef. I have not coloured
it.—_Rapa_, or Oparree; from the accounts given of it by Ellis and
Vancouver, there does not appear to be any reef.—_I. de Bass_ is an
adjoining island, of which I cannot find any account.—_Kemin_ Island;
Krusenstern seems hardly to know its position, and gives no further
particulars.
ISLANDS BETWEEN _the Low and Gilbert Archipelagoes._
_Caroline_ Island (10° S., 150 deg W.) is described by Mr. F. D.
Bennett (_Geograph. Journ._, vol. vii, p. 225) as containing a fine
lagoon; coloured blue.—_Flint_ Island (11° S., 151° W.); Krusenstern
believes that it is the same with Peregrino, which is described by
Quiros (Burney’s “Chron. Hist.,” vol. ii, p. 283) as “a cluster of
small islands connected by a reef, and forming a lagoon in the middle;”
coloured blue.—_Wostock_ is an island a little more than half a mile in
diameter, and apparently quite flat and low, and was discovered by
Bellinghausen; it is situated a little west of Caroline Island, but it
is not placed on the French charts; I have not coloured it, although I
entertain little doubt from the chart of Bellinghausen, that it
originally contained a small lagoon.—_Penrhyn_ Island (9° S., 158° W.);
a plan of it in the “Atlas of the First Voyage” of Kotzebue, shows that
it is an atoll; blue.—_Slarbuck_ Island (5° S., 156° W.) is described
in Byron’s “Voyage in the _Blonde_” (p. 206) as formed of a flat
coral-rock, with no trees; the height not given; not coloured.—_Malden_
Island (4° S., 154° W.); in the same voyage (p. 205) this island is
said to be of coral formation, and no part above forty feet high; I
have not ventured to colour it, although, from being of
coral-formation, it is probably fringed; in which case it should be
red.—_Jarvis_, or _Bunker_ Island (0° 20′ S., 160° W.) is described by
Mr. F. D. Bennett (_Geograph. Journ._, vol. vii, p. 227) as a narrow,
low strip of coral-formation; not coloured.—_Brook_, is a small low
island between the two latter; the position, and perhaps even the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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