SUVADIVA. 143 



islands on it until we reach Maraeta, about halfway to the northern ex- 

 tremity of the reef flat. The water on the reef flat is shallow ; many sand- 

 bars rise from it. North of Wiringili a narrow velu extends almost to 

 Mameta, it is indicated on Mr. Gardiner's chart of Suvadiva; 1 the outer 

 edge is flanked for nearly its whole length by a boulder belt, or by heaps 

 of shingle and small boulders. 



It will be seen that I differ greatly from Mr. Gardiner 2 in considering 

 Suvadiva as an open and oceanic atoll, and do not — as he does — look 

 upon its rim as anything but perfect. Mr. Gardiner circumnavigated the 

 lagoon of Suvadiva, and paid special attention to the lagoon face of 

 the western encircling reef. He considers the differences he noticed in the 

 existence of reef patches on the eastern face of Hondedu and east of 

 Fiori as due to the breaking up of the reef, which is indicated as con- 

 tinuous on Moresby's Chart, and to the fusion of the separate velus into one. 

 The islands of the west face south of Nadale are evidently washing 

 away on the lagoon face. 3 



Mr. Gardiner has in his chart of Suvadiva 4 indicated the depth of the 

 central flat as ranging from forty to fifty fathoms ; the majority of the 

 soundings on the Admiralty Chart in that region are less than forty-five 

 fathoms, with only one sounding of forty-nine fathoms. Mr. Gardiner 

 infers from his line of soundings between Gadu and Nadale that there has 

 been an increase in depth of about two fathoms in that part of the 

 lagoon of Suvadiva. He further concludes that as the coral shoals and 

 heads in the interior of the lagoon are precipitous to thirty fathoms, they 

 could not have arisen from a base of that depth, and that the greater depth 

 must be due to solution of the bottom of the lagoon ; while recognizing 

 the efficiency of solution that does not preclude reef corals from obtaining 

 a foothold at that depth. 



On comparing his line of soundings with those on the Admiralty Chart, 

 the two deepest soundings, 48 and 46, are in an area not sounded by 

 Moresby, and there is nothing to indicate that they may not have been the 

 normal soundings in 1835 as much as the soundings to the eastward. 



1 Loc. cit., PI. XXI. 8 Loc. cit., p. 413. 



2 Loc. cit., p. 409. * Loc. cit., PI. XXI. 



