vaughan: virgin and leeward islands 65 



British Admiralty charts. The latitude at the intersection of 

 each profile with the shore-line is followed by a statement of 

 the direction of the profile from the shore. 



South of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. 



1. From Burleigh, S. Lat. 28° 4' 30", North 73° East. 



2. From North Point, S. Lat. 27° 1' 45", North 3° East. 



3. From Shore east of Leading Hill, S. Lat. 25° 26' 15", South 



82° East. 



4. From base of Sandy Cape, S. Lat. 24° 53' 40", North 68° East. 

 Southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. 



5. From Toowong Hill, S. Lat. 24° 22' 4", North 45° East, passing 



between Lady Elliot and Lady Musgrove islands. 

 Across the Great Barrier Reef. 



6. From Rodd Peninsula, S. Lat. 24° 0' 0", North 50° East. 



8. From Georges Point, Hinchinbrook Island, S. Lat. 18° 25' 40", 



North 72° 30' East. 



9. From Malbon Thompson Range, S. Lat. 17° 7' 15", North 



68° 30' East. 



10. From Yarrabah Mission, S. Lat. 16° 54' 30", North 37° East. 



11. From mouth of Daintree River, S. Lat. 16° 18' 25", North 78" 



30' East. 



12. From half way between Cape Flattery and Lookout Point, 



S. Lat. 14° 56' 10", North 46° East. 



13. From Cape Sidmouth, S. Lat. 13° 25' 45", North 85° East. 



14. From Cape Grenville, S. Lat. 11° 58' 25", North 85° East. 



These profiles show the continuity of the platform from the 

 area south of the Great Barrier, and that there is an outer, deeper 

 flat about 200 feet deep. As except near its north end the reef 

 stands back from the seaward edge of the Continental Shelf, 

 apparently the idea that the platform was formed by infilling 

 behind the reef may be permanently set aside. The similarity 

 of the conditions here presented to those off Nicaragua and in 

 the West Indies is obvious. The evidence in favor of a shore 

 line between about 25 and 30 fathoms below present sea-level 

 antecedent to Recent submergence is strong, if not conclusive, 

 and supports the deduction that the living barrier reef is grow- 

 ing on what was a land surface in Pleistocene time, an inter- 

 pretation essentially that proposed by E. C. Andrews in 1902. 



The relations around the Pacific Islands off which barrier reefs 

 occur are those of continuous platforms surmounted or mar- 

 gined by discontinuous reefs. These relations indicate the super- 



