Chapter XVII: Appendix (2)

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, volume ii., page 332) on its west side; it is very steep outside.—_Discovery Shoal_, also is of an oval form, with a lagoon-like space within, and three openings leading into it, in which there is a depth from two to twenty fathoms. Outside, at the distance (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 333) of only twenty yards from the reef, soundings could not be obtained. The Paracells are coloured blue.—_Macclesfield Bank:_ this is a coral-bank of great size, lying east of the Paracells; some parts of the bank are level, with a sandy bottom, but, generally, the depth is very irregular. It is intersected by deep cuts or channels. I am not able to perceive in the published charts (its limits, however, are not very accurately known) whether the central part is deeper, which I suspect is the case, as in the Great Chagos Bank, in the Indian Ocean; not coloured.—_Scarborough Shoal:_ this coral-shoal is engraved with a double row of crosses, forming a circle, as if there was deep water within the reef: close outside there was no bottom, with a hundred fathoms; coloured blue.—The sea off the west coast of Palawan and the northern part of Borneo is strewed with shoals: _Swallow Shoal_, according to Horsburgh (volume ii., page 431) “is formed, _like most_ of the shoals hereabouts, of a belt of coral-rocks, “with a basin of deep water within.”—_Half-Moon Shoal_ has a similar structure; Captain D. Ross describes it, as a narrow belt of coral-rock, “with a basin of deep water in the centre,” and deep sea close outside.—_Bombay Shoal_ appears (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 432) “to be a basin of smooth water surrounded by breakers.” These three shoals I have coloured blue.—The _Paraquas Shoals_ are of a circular form, with deep gaps running through them; not coloured.—A bank gradually shoaling to the depth of thirty fathoms, extends to a distance of about twenty miles from the northern part of _Borneo_, and to thirty miles from the northern part of _Palawan_. Near the land this bank appears tolerably free from danger, but a little further out it is thickly studded with coral-shoals, which do not generally rise quite to the surface; some of them are very steep-to, and others have a fringe of shoal-water round them. I should have thought that these shoals had level surfaces, had it not been for the statement made by Horsburgh “that most of the shoals hereabouts are formed of a belt of coral.” But, perhaps that expression was more particularly applied to the shoals further in the offing. If these reefs of coral have a lagoon-like structure, they should have been coloured blue, and they would have formed an imperfect barrier in front of Palawan and the northern part of Borneo. But, as the water is not very deep, these reefs may have grown up from inequalities on the bank: I have not coloured them.—The coast of _China_, _Tonquin_, and _Cochin-China_, forming the western boundary of the China Sea, appear to be without reefs: with regard to the two last-mentioned coasts, I speak after examining the charts on a large scale in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Favourite’.”

INDIAN OCEAN.—_South Keeling_ has been specially described: nine miles north of it lies North Keeling, a very small atoll, surveyed by the “Beagle,” the lagoon of which is dry at low water.—_Christmas Island_, lying to the east, is a high island, without, as I have been informed by a person who passed it, any reefs at all.—CEYLON: a space about eighty miles in length of the south-western and southern shores of these islands has been described by Mr. Twynam (“Naut. Mag.” 1836, pages 365 and 518); parts of this space appear to be very regularly fringed by coral-reefs, which extend from a quarter to half a mile from the shore. These reefs are in places breached, and afford safe anchorage for the small trading craft. Outside, the sea gradually deepens; there is forty fathoms about six miles off shore: this part I have coloured red. In the published charts of Ceylon there appear to be fringing-reefs in several parts of the south-eastern shores, which I have also coloured red.—At Venloos Bay the shore is likewise fringed. North of Trincomalee there are also reefs of the same kind. The sea off the northern part of Ceylon is exceedingly shallow; and therefore I have not coloured the reefs which fringe portions of its shores, and the adjoining islets, as well as the Indian promontory of _Madura_.

CHAGOS, MALDIVA, and LACCADIVE ARCHIPELAGOES.—These three great groups which have already been often noticed, are now well-known from the admirable surveys of Captain Moresby and Lieutenant Powell. The published charts, which are worthy of the most attentive examination, at once show that the _Chagos_ and _Maldiva_ groups are entirely formed of great atolls, or lagoon-formed reefs, surmounted by islets. In the _Laccadive_ group, this structure is less evident; the islets are low, not exceeding the usual height of coral-formations (see Lieutenant Wood’s account, “Geographical Journal”, volume vi., page 29), and most of the reefs are circular, as may be seen in the published charts; and within several of them, as I am informed by Captain Moresby, there is deepish water; these, therefore, have been coloured blue. Directly north, and almost forming part of this group, there is a long, narrow, slightly curved bank, rising out of the depths of the ocean, composed of sand, shells, and decayed coral, with from twenty-three to thirty fathoms on it. I have no doubt that it has had the same origin with the other Laccadive banks; but as it does not deepen towards the centre I have not coloured it. I might have referred to other authorities regarding these three archipelagoes; but after the publication of the charts by Captain Moresby, to whose personal kindness in giving me much information I am exceedingly indebted, it would have been superfluous.

_Sahia de Malha_bank consists of a series of narrow banks, with from eight to sixteen fathoms on them; they are arranged in a semicircular manner, round a space about forty fathoms deep, which slopes on the S.E. quarter to unfathomable depths; they are steep-to on both sides, but more especially on the ocean-side. Hence this bank closely resembles in structure, and I may add from Captain Moresby’s information in composition, the Pitt’s Bank in the Chagos group; and the Pitt’s Bank, must, after what has been shown of the Great Chagos Bank, be considered as a sunken, half-destroyed atoll; hence coloured blue.—_Cargados Carajos Bank_. Its southern portion consists of a large, curved, coral-shoal, with some low islets on its eastern edge, and likewise some on the western side, between which there is a depth of about twelve fathoms. Northward, a great bank extends. I cannot (probably owing to the want of perfect charts) refer this reef and bank to any class;—therefore not coloured.—_Ile de Sable_ is a little island, lying west of C. Carajos, only some toises in height (“Voyage of the ‘Favourite’,” volume i., page 130); it is surrounded by reefs; but its structure is unintelligible to me. There are some small banks north of it, of which I can find no clear account.—_Mauritius_. The reefs round this island have been described in the chapter on fringing-reefs; coloured red. —_Rodriguez_. The coral-reefs here are exceedingly extensive; in one part they project even five miles from the shore. As far as I can make out, there is no deep-water moat within them; and the sea outside does not deepen very suddenly. The outline, however, of the land appears to be (“Life of Sir J. Makintosh,” volume ii., page 165) hilly and rugged. I am unable to decide whether these reefs belong to the barrier class; as seems probable from their great extension, or to the fringing class; uncoloured. —_Bourbon_. The greater part of the shores of this island are without reefs; but Captain Carmichael (Hooker’s “Bot. Misc.”) states that a portion, fifteen miles in length, on the S.E. side, is imperfectly fringed with coral reefs: I have not thought this sufficient to colour the island.

SEYCHELLES.—The rocky islands of primary formation, composing this group, rise from a very extensive and tolerably level bank, having a depth between twenty and forty fathoms. In Captain Owen’s chart, and in that in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Favourite’,” it appears that the east side of _Mahé_ and the adjoining islands of _St. Anne_ and _Cerf_, are regularly fringed by coral-reefs. A portion of the S.E. part of _Curieuse Island_, the N., and part of the S.W. shore of _Praslin Island_, and the whole west side of _Digue Island_, appear fringed. From a MS. account of these islands by Captain F. Moresby, in the Admiralty, it appears that _Silhouette_ is also fringed; he states that all these islands are formed of granite and quartz, that they rise abruptly from the sea, and that “coral-reefs have grown round them, and project for some distance.” Dr. Allan, of Forres, who visited these islands, informs me that there is no deep water between the reefs and the shore. The above specified points have been coloured red. _Amirantes Islands:_ The small islands of this neighbouring group, according to the MS. account of them by Captain F. Moresby, are situated on an extensive bank; they consist of the debris of corals and shells; are only about twenty feet in height, and are environed by reefs, some attached to the shore, and some rather distant from it.—I have taken great pains to procure plans and information regarding the several islands lying between S.E. and S.W. of the Amirantes, and the Seychelles; relying chiefly on Captain F. Moresby and Dr. Allan, it appears that the greater number, namely—_Platte_, _Alphonse_, _Coetivi_, _Galega_, _Providence_, _St. Pierre_, _Astova_, _Assomption_, and _Glorioso_, are low, formed of sand or coral-rock, and irregularly shaped; they are situated on very extensive banks, and are connected with great coral-reefs. Galega is said by Dr. Allan, to be rather higher than the other islands; and St. Pierre is described by Captain F. Moresby, as being cavernous throughout, and as not consisting of either limestone or granite. These islands, as well as the Amirantes, certainly are not atoll-formed, and they differ as a group from every other group with which I am acquainted; I have not coloured them; but probably the reefs belong to the fringing class. Their formation is attributed, both by Dr. Allan and Captain F. Moresby, to the action of the currents, here exceedingly violent, on banks, which no doubt have had an independent geological origin. They resemble in many respects some islands and banks in the West Indies, which owe their origin to a similar agency, in conjunction with an elevation of the entire area. In close vicinity to the several islands, there are three others of an apparently different nature: first, _Juan de Nova_, which appears from some plans and accounts to be an atoll; but from others does not appear to be so; not coloured. Secondly _Cosmoledo;_ “this group consists of a ring of coral, ten leagues in circumference, and a quarter of a mile broad in some places, enclosing a magnificent lagoon, into which there did not appear a single opening” (Horsburgh, volume i., page 151); coloured blue. Thirdly, _Aldabra;_ it consists of three islets, about twenty-five feet in height, with red cliffs (Horsburgh, volume i., page 176) surrounding a very shallow basin or lagoon. The sea is profoundly deep close to the shore. Viewing this island in a chart, it would be thought an atoll; but the foregoing description shows that there is something different in its nature; Dr. Allan also states that it is cavernous, and that the coral-rock has a vitrified appearance. Is it an upheaved atoll, or the crater of a volcano?—uncoloured.

COMORO GROUP.—_Mayotta_, according to Horsburgh (volume i., page 216, 4th edition), is completely surrounded by a reef, which runs at the distance of three, four, and in some places even five miles from the land; in an old chart, published by Dalrymple, a depth in many places of thirty-six and thirty-eight fathoms is laid down within the reef. In the same chart, the space of open water within the reef in some parts is even more than three miles wide: the land is bold and peaked; this island, therefore, is encircled by a well-characterised barrier-reef, and is coloured pale blue.—_Johanna;_ Horsburgh says (volume I. page 217) this island from the N.W. to the S.W. point, is bounded by a reef, at the distance of two miles from the shore; in some parts, however, the reef must be attached, since Lieutenant Boteler (“Narr.” volume i., page 161) describes a passage through it, within which there is room only for a few boats. Its height, as I am informed by Dr. Allan, is about 3,500 feet; it is very precipitous, and is composed of granite, greenstone, and quartz; coloured blue.—_Mohilla;_ on the S. side of this island there is anchorage, in from thirty to forty-five fathoms, between a reef and the shore (Horsburgh, volume i., page 214); in Captain Owen’s chart of Madagascar, this island is represented as encircled; coloured blue.—_Great Comoro Island_ is, as I am informed by Dr. Allan, about 8,000 feet high, and apparently volcanic; it is not regularly encircled; but reefs of various shapes and dimensions, jut out from every headland on the W., S., and S.E. coasts, inside of which reefs there are channels, often parallel with the shore, with deep water. On the north-western coasts the reefs appear attached to the shores. The land near the coast is in some places bold, but generally speaking it is flat; Horsburgh says (volume i., page 214) the water is profoundly deep close to the _shore_, from which expression I presume some parts are without reefs. From this description I apprehend the reef belongs to the barrier class; but I have not coloured it, as most of the charts which I have seen, represent the reefs round it as very much less extensive than round the other islands in the group.

MADAGASCAR.—My information is chiefly derived from the published charts by Captain Owen, and the accounts given by him and by Lieutenant Boteler. Commencing at the S.W. extremity of the island; towards the northern part of the _Star Bank_ (in latitude 25° S.) the coast for ten miles is fringed by a reef; coloured red. The shore immediately S. of _St. Augustine’s Bay_ appears fringed; but _Tullear_ Harbour, directly N. of it, is formed by a narrow reef ten miles long, extending parallel to the shore, with from four to ten fathoms within it. If this reef had been more extensive, it must have been classed as a barrier-reef; but as the line of coast falls inwards here, a submarine bank perhaps extends parallel to the shore, which has offered a foundation for the growth of the coral; I have left this part uncoloured. From _lat_. 22° 16′ _to_ 21° 37′, the shore is fringed by coral-reefs (see Lieutenant Boteler’s “Narrative,” volume ii., page 106), less than a mile in width, and with shallow water within. There are outlying coral-shoals in several parts of the offing, with about ten fathoms between them and the shore, and the depth of the sea one mile and a half seaward, is about thirty fathoms. The part above specified is engraved on a large scale; and as in the charts on rather a smaller scale the same fringe of reef extends as far as latitude 33° 15′; I have coloured the whole of this part of the coast red. The islands of _Juan de Nova_ (in latitude 17° S.) appear in the charts on a large scale to be fringed, but I have not been able to ascertain whether the reefs are of coral; uncoloured. The main part of the west coast appears to be low, with outlying sandbanks, which, Lieutenant Boteler (volume ii., page 106) says, “are faced on the edge of deep water by a line of sharp-pointed coral-rocks.” Nevertheless I have not coloured this part, as I cannot make out by the charts that the coast itself is fringed. The headlands of _Narrenda_ and _Passandava Bays_ (14° 40′) and the islands in front of _Radama harbour_ are represented in the plans as regularly fringed, and have accordingly been coloured red. With respect to the _East coast of Madagascar_, Dr. Allan informs me in a letter, that the whole line of coast, from _Tamatave_, in 18° 12′, to _C. Amber_, at the extreme northern point of the island, is bordered by coral-reefs. The land is low, uneven, and gradually rising from the coast. From Captain Owen’s charts, also, the existence of these reefs, which evidently belong to the fringing class, on some parts, namely N. of _British Sound_, and near _Ngoncy_, of the above line of coast might have been inferred. Lieutenant Boteler (volume i., page 155) speaks of “the reef surrounding the island of _St. Mary’s_ at a small distance from the shore.” In a previous chapter I have described, from the information of Dr. Allan, the manner in which the reefs extend in N.E. lines from the headlands on this coast, thus sometimes forming rather deep channels within them, this seems caused by the action of the currents, and the reefs spring up from the submarine prolongations of the sandy headlands. The above specified portion of the coast is coloured red. The remaining S.E. portions do not appear in any published chart to possess reefs of any kind; and the Rev. W. Ellis, whose means of information regarding this side of Madagascar have been extensive, informs me he believes there are none.