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Appendix. 3
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 Labillardiere,
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 BEAUPRE,) 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.
SOLOMON 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 Labillardiere, 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 recifs a 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 Lutke; 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. Lutke, 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.--
POUYNIPETE, 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" (Lutke, 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 (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 Lutke's charts)--a regular atoll.) 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 Lutke), 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:
Lutke (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 Lutke
(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 Lutke, is described and figured by Mr. Bennett ("United Service
Journal," January 1832) as an atoll. All the above-mentioned islands have
been coloured blue.
WESTERN PART OF THE CAROLINE ARCHIPELAGO.
FAIS Island is ninety feet high, and is surrounded, as I have been informed
by Admiral Lutke, 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 Lutke 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
entierement entouree des recifs" (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 recifs;"
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 Lutke'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 deg 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 LES PLUPART des iles de cet archipel, il
y a de rocs de medrepores d'une beaute et d'une variete infimies."
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 deg 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.
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