214 "ALBATROSS" TROPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITIOX. 



many of them on the edge of the water. Pandanus appear in Funamanu ; 

 the}' seem to be very common to the north on all the islands of the land 

 rim of Funafuti. 



Skirting along the east coast of the island, after passing the eastern 

 point of Funafuti Island, we came upon a narrow gap (Pi. 133, fig. 2) which 

 separates Funafuti from Tengako, and is marked on the chart " pile of 

 stones " ; the gap is flanked on each side by extensive ridges of coral breccia 

 (Pis. 134, fig. 2; 135, fig. 1 ; 136, fig. 2). The beach of the east coast of 

 Funafuti is exceedingly steep and covered with large coarse coral rock 

 shingle (PI. 132, fig. 2), topped by the belt of low bushes so characteristic 

 of the coral islands of the southern Pacific. On the lagoon side of the belt 

 grow cocoanut trees. Pandanus and other typical atoll trees are found in 

 great abundance. 



The reef platform is quite narrow (Pis. 132, fig. 2; 135, fig. 2; 136, 

 fig. 1), and the coral breccia which covers it has in a great many instances, 

 been worn and cut so as to form a shallow sink between the outer raised 

 edge of the reef platform and the base of the shhigle beach (Pis. 132, fig. 2 ; 

 135, fig. 2). The remnants of this breccia, which once rose to a greater 

 height than it does at present, occur as buttresses, running at right angles 

 to the base of the beach, near its foot, to a height of from two to five feet 

 (Pis. 135, fig. 2 ; 136, fig. 1). The base of the buttresses is separated by 

 ridges of coral shingle (PI. 132, fig. 2), or in some cases by coarse coral 

 sand. The outer edge of the reef flat rises from two to three feet above the 

 level of the inner part of the flat, and thus forms along the east coast of 

 Funafuti Island a number of extensive pools varying in depth, according 

 to the depth of the gaps of the outer edge through which the sea may 

 have access to them. As we opened out the northeast passage into the atoll 

 of Funafuti (PI. 131, fig. 4), we could see in the distance the sand bar and 

 island which flank the north side of the passage ; from its southern extremity 

 extends a bar of shingle more or less marked. 



Turning into the northeast passage, we see in the distance the small 

 islands, islets and sand bars on the northern and northwestern side of the 

 atoll (PI. 222). Some of these islets are tufted with cocoanut trees, others 

 are bare, and others are thickly covered with a belt of low bushes and tall 



