ANDREWS: LIMESTONES OF THE FIJI ISLANDS. 23 



active volcanism. This dome of lava x burst through the old cliff ring 

 and carried the broken fragments up, subsequently, on the top of a 

 rising lava. 



Vatic Leile (Plates 28-31). — This interesting island differs materi- 

 ally in many ways from the other Fiji islands. Topographically, it 

 resembles the Vavau group, while lithologically it shows affinities with 

 the Lau Islands. 2 The eastern coast is flat (Plate 29), rising, like the 

 northern shore of Tonga, but a couple of feet out of the reach of the high 

 tides. As at Vavau, a deep deposit of soil covers the rocky base, and 

 prevents geologizing to any extent. Through this flat long tongues of 

 basalt have been protruded, reaching into the lagoon. On the western 

 side are magnificent examples of former elevations. On a cliff face 100 

 feet in height (Plates 30, 31), are no less than four well-preserved lines 

 of beach erosion. These, with the modern one, constitute a marked fea- 

 ture in the landscape. They are, in cross section, like a quadrant of an 

 ellipse with the longer semi-axis held horizontally. The most pronounced 

 is that immediately above the modern line of beach erosion, and persisting 

 for so many miles of such a height and flatness of floor as to have earned 

 from the natives the name of " The Great Walk." The floor is 6 feet 

 above high-water mark. It is 6 or 7 feet from floor to roof, and is eaten 

 back into the cliff some 10 feet. The second is 14 feet, and the third 

 and fourth are respectively 35 and 45 feet above the same datum line 

 (high-water mark). It may be remarked, in passing, that a line of beach 

 erosion corresponds to a terrace on the opposite side of the island. But 

 it must not be forgotten that these evidences of erosion do not stretch 

 as geometrical lines throughout the length of the western cliffs. Only 

 in one favored spot can the four be seen at once. On the main 

 cliff the third and fourth lines are very faint, while the second is 

 invisible. 



Corresponding to " The Great Walk " (Plate 31) is an upraised reef 

 spreading out from the cliffs, which at this spot have retreated slightly 

 inland. The reef is bounded to the rear by a cliff 100 feet high and by 

 the upper part of " The Great Walk." This flat is about 6 feet above 

 the tides. So recent is the uplift that hundreds of loose corals lie 

 over the platform. The platform itself consists of reef-debris rock, as 

 hard and dense as any Lau limestone, while here and there scattered 

 coral are stuck in it like stray pins in a cushion. 



By walking behind the sea-cliff, another set of rocks about 50 yards 



1 See A. Agassiz, /. c, Plate 78. 



2 A. Agassiz, /. c, Plate 100. 



