4,S6 THE CONTINKNTAL ORIGIN OF FIJI, 



one where any trace of plutonic rock has been discovered, and 

 here it was only in the form of inclusions of fragments of red 

 ^arnet, tourmaline, and "uralitized gabbro" as already described 

 (p. 461) floated up in lava, probably from great depths. 



To the west the case is different. On several islands of the 

 New Hebrides group continental rocks have been found. Com- 

 paratively little is known of their occurrence, but at Malicolo* 

 and Spiritu Santo gneiss and crystalline limestone have been 

 found, and at Aneityum serpentines like those of New Caledonia. 



The continental origin of the latter island is undoubted, con- 

 taining, as it does, extensive areas of gneiss and various schists, 

 sedimentary formations containing Palaeozoic or Mesozoic coal, 

 and serpentines and peridotites. 



The Solomon Islands, according to Guppy,t contain extensive 

 areas of quartzites and schists. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. 

 Milner Stephen, of the Pacific Island Trading Co., Ltd., I have 

 been able to examine a small collection of pebbles from the 

 Solomon Islands. These were collected by agents of the above 

 Company, mainly, I believe, from the gravels of the rivers. The 

 most important specimen was a very small one of coarse horn- 

 blendic gneiss from Thousand Ships Bay in Vulavu. Others were 

 limestone, recalling the Qali Mari limestone of Fiji, from Guadal- 

 canar and Ysabel; jasper from Guadalcanar and Vulavu, and 

 cjreen tuff from Vulavu. 



New Guinea, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and in fact all the larger 

 islands comprising the great archipelago stretching from Australia 

 to Asia are built up largely of rocks of undoubtedly continental 

 origin. 



To the south of the Fiji group lie Norfolk Island, Lord Howe 

 Island and New Zealand. The two small islands do not contain 

 continental rocks. 



* Levat, D., in Imhaus E.N. "Les Nouvelles Hebrides," Paris-Nancy, 1890, 

 pp. 122-127. 



t Guppy, " The Solomon Islands, their Geology, General Features," 

 Lend., 1887. 



