James D. Dana, Esq., on Coral Beefs and Islands. 35 



highest, is seldom elevated over eight or ten feet above high 

 tide. 



When first seen from the deck of a vessel, only a series 

 of dark points is descried just above the horizon. Shortly 

 after, the points enlarge into the plumed tops of cocoa-nut 

 trees, and a line of green, interrupted at intervals, is traced 

 along the water''s surface. Approaching still nearer, the lake 

 and its belt of verdure are spread out before the eye, and a 

 scene of more interest can scarcely be imagined. The surf 

 beating loud and heavy along the margin of the reef, pre- 

 sents a strange contrast to the prospect beyond, — the white 

 coral beach, the massy foliage of the grove, and the em- 

 bosomed lake with its tiny islets. The colour of the lagoon 

 water is often as blue as the ocean, although but fifteen or 

 twenty fathoms deep ; yet shades of green and yellow are in- 

 termingled, where patches of sand or coral knolls are near 

 the surface ; and the green is a delicate apple-shade, quite 

 unlike the usual muddy tint of shallow waters. 



The belt of verdure, though sometimes continuous around 

 the lagoon, is usually broken in some parts into islets, which 

 are separated by varying intervals of bare reef ; and through 

 one or more of these intervals a ship-channel occasionally 

 opens into the lagoon. The larger coral islands are thus a 

 string of islands arranged along a line of coral reef. The 

 King of the Maldives bears the high sounding title of 

 *' Ibrahim Sultan, King of the thirteen Atollons and Twelve 

 Thousand Isles ;" which Captain W. F. W. Owen, R.N., 

 remarks is no exaggeration. 



The usual features of these islands are presented in the 

 above sketch. The narrow belt is seen to consist of several 

 patches of vegetation, and within are the quiet waters which 

 off*er a retreat for vessels whenever there is an opening to 

 the lagoon. 



A few small coral islands are simple reefs without lagoons. 

 In some cases they are bare banks of coral ; but generally, 

 the usual vegetation of the islands has obtained a foothold, and 

 afford some protection against the glare of the coral sand.* 



* For further observations on Coral Reefs and Islands vide Dana's Memoir 

 In Silliman's Journal, May 1851. 



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