64 THE CORAL REEFS OF THE MALDIVES. 



Megeli Is] and is crescent-shaped. It occupies the eastern part of the rim 

 flat of a faro of which the lagoon has been completely filled. The small 

 islet on the east face of Muduwari (PI. 28, fig. 2) is covered with low 

 bushes. 



From Muduwari north towards Kendu and the islands which form the 

 northern boundary of South Malosmadulu the atoll is clear. Kendu (PI. 29, 

 fig. 2), like the other islands to the eastward, is steep to, with steep and 

 high sand beaches, much higher than any sand beaches we have seen in 

 the central groups of the Maldives. The western point of Kendu, which 

 is exposed to quite a reach of the southwest monsoon, is covered with 

 coral boulders. The islands and faros of the north face of South Malos- 

 madulu are divided by deep and wide passes. 



At Kiadu (PI. 28, fig. 1) the apparent depression due to the height of 

 the enclosing beaches is very marked. Kiadufuri is a beautiful elliptical 

 ring with wide reef flats enclosing a lagoon with from five to six fathoms 

 in depth, and an extensive sand bank on the southern face ; this is not 

 indicated on the charts of 1836. At Hanikandu Faro, which forms the 

 northwestern angle of South Malosmadulu, the enclosed lagoon is said to 

 be twenty fathoms in depth. 



Middle Malosmadulu. 



Plates 1, 3; 8 h, figs. 9, 10; 29, fig. 1. 



The large triangular bank wedged in between South and North Malos- 

 madulu may be called Middle Malosmadulu; it is separated from them 

 by deep channels of from two to three miles in width, and with depths 

 varying from one hundred and ten to one hundred and forty fathoms in 

 the axis of the channels. The enclosed area of Middle Malosmadulu is free 

 from patches or faros. Its faces are bounded by comparatively few islands 

 and large faros, separated by wide and deep passages. The greatest depth 

 of this bank is twenty-six fathoms, with a general average of about 

 twenty fathoms. 



We examined some of the islands and faros of the southern and north- 

 western faces. Karidu Island is steep to, like Kendu and the islands on 



