12G THE CORAL REEFS OF THE MALDIVES. 



Kimbudu, the southernmost island of Kolumadulu, extends nearly to the 

 outer edge of the faro. Its southern point is protected by coarse shingle 

 and boulders, and on both the eastern and western faces we readily trace 

 the passage of the coarse shingle of the outer point into the fine shingle 

 and coral sand beaches of the island towards the lagoon face of the faro. 



The shape of the lagoon of the western land rim between Kandudu and 

 Weligandu can be traced by its color; it is of a brilliant light blue, passing 

 into the light green belt of shallow water of the extensive reef flat reaching 

 from Weligandu as far north as Kandufuri pass. Judging from the absence 

 of colored patches, few corals flourish on the upper parts of the sea face 

 slope of this northern reef flat. 



The island to the northeast of Hirilandu, opposite the pass, is on the 

 western face of a large faro, fully two miles in diameter, surrounded by 

 a wide rim enclosing a lagoon with four fathoms of water. The northwest 

 point of the island is edged by a prominent boulder belt. 



Opposite Naraka we find outliers of reef rock undercut, pitted, and 

 honeycombed, extending parallel to the outer edge between the island and 

 the boulder belt along the sea face. The sea is encroaching on the island 

 to the south of Naraka (PI. 66, fig. 1). Several cocoanut-trees are lying on 

 the flat, the roots well away from the beach. These isolated roots look 

 like coral boulders, and at a distance might readily be mistaken for such. 

 In the northern part of the Maldives we often found such masses of isolated 

 roots, at a distance from the beaches and well out on the reef flats adjoining 

 the islands. North of Naraka sand-bars and patches and belts of shingle 

 extend as far as Hirilandu. Some of the shingle belts are mere threads, 

 often ending in small sand bars or banks. 



To the south of Hirilandu a narrow curved patch of corals projects off 

 the lagoon face of the reef flat, and nearly shuts in a small area of the 

 lagoon with twenty-one fathoms of depth. The existence of such a spit 

 readily explains the formation of small faros with lagoons of considerable 

 depth. Their growth in a linear direction parallel to the lagoon face of a 

 reef flat would also account for the formation of long lagoons like that 

 extending from Vaimandu nearly to Hirilandu, with depths varying from 

 two to seven fathoms. South of Hirilandu corals seem to flourish abun- 



