NORTH MALE. 37 



to six feet of water, with two large islands in the axis of the flat. The 

 lagoon of this faro has practically been filled up by the washing into the 

 central basin of coral sand from both the sea face and the lagoon side 

 during the prevalence of the northeast or southwest monsoons. A small 

 faro with an islet and a sand-bar at its eastern extremity occupies the central 

 part of the deep pass separating it from the faro to the north. We find 

 on the chart twenty-one fathoms in the channel on either side of these 

 obstructions (PI. 4). 



The great faro at the horn of the southeast face of North Male is sepa- 

 rated from Irama by a pass nearly three miles wide. It is well seen from off 

 the northern extremity of Hulule, where one can take in at a glance the 

 whole length of the lagoon and look over the flats to the east of Hulule and 

 to the great reef flats forming the northern horn of the faro. The northern 

 and southern parts of this southernmost faro (Pis. 10, 11) are occupied by 

 wide reef flats; a small island, lying diagonally across the flats, occupies 

 the central part of the northern horn of Hulule, a long island flanks the 

 western face of the southern horn, and a small islet lies to the southeast 

 near the southernmost extremity of the faro. Near the small southern 

 islet a line of recent reef rock rises inside of the boulder belt, from a foot 

 to eighteen inches above the reef flat. It is one of the outliers of the 

 older reef flat conglomerate which has been denuded to its present level. 

 This ridge is eroded, deeply pitted, undercut, and honeycombed, and is 

 the first indication we saw of evidence of a slight elevation of the coral 

 reef of the Maldives in most recent times, judging from the character of 

 the reef rock as it appears there and at other points in the group. The 

 outer eastern edge of Hulule faro is flanked by a boulder belt of fairly large 

 blocks. The belt passes round the southeast horn and extends along the 

 face of the little islet on the edge of the faro near its southeast horn. 

 This faro is in reality an atoll, fully as large as many a Pacific island 

 atoll with wide reef flats, flanked on the sea face by coral boulders enclosing 

 a shallow lagoon and with islands on the rim flats. 



The southern part of Imma pass is occupied by a small faro and an islet 

 to the north of it. The small faro is separated from Furena by a narrow pass 

 with thirty fathoms of water. In the main channel the depths vary from 



