384 CORALS AND CORAL ISLANDS. 
of a group, and possibly a subsidence on the east; while a 
little farther east, the Tonga Islands constitute another ex- 
tended area of elevation. We observe that while the Samoan 
Islands afford no evidences of elevation, the Tonga Islands on 
the south have been raised, and also the Fakaafo Group and 
others on the north. 
We cannot, therefore, distinguish any evidence that a 
general rise is, or has been, in progress ; yet some large areas 
appear to have been simultaneously affected, although the 
action has generally been isolated. Metia and Elizabeth 
Island, in the Paumotu Archipelago, may have risen ab- 
ruptly ;. but the changes of level in the Feejees and the 
Friendly Islands appear to have taken place by gradual 
action. 
] Rat 7 ae BS Ct a 




