318 



J. STANLEY GARDINER. 



in size and extent. There is between the land, wherever it exists, and the lagoon basin a 

 flat of some sort, covered with dark, muddy sand, gradually getting whiter further out from 

 the land. The inner part of this is to some extent exposed at low tide, and off Midu in 

 the north-east corner the exposed area attains a breadth at springs of about 700 yards. 

 Further at ordinary low tide neither this village nor Huludu can be approached even in a 

 small dinghey within several hundred yards on account of this platform. The outward edge 

 of the flat against the lagoon is quite well-defined — being covered with growing corals, 

 Lohophytum and other organisms — and lies at a distance of about \\ miles from the land ; 

 its depth in this part is such that it can be conveniently waded at low tide, i.e. about 

 4 feet. The high water mark is about 3 feet up the beach, and, the tide being about 

 4 feet, there is thus in this comer a great platform, extending out for 1^ miles from the 



^ffsc^t 



'/Iffuludu 



Suek 



'"■^'tS'-'// 



Fig. 74. Addu Atoll. The map is based on the Admiralty Chart, altered iu accordance with the observations of the 

 Expedition. Mr Forster Cooper's soundings alone are marked. Scale 2 miles to 1 inch. [For changes compare 

 the Admiralty Chart on p. 150.) 



land, with a slope in this distance of about 5 feet. This, however, is not all. Absolutely 

 in the corner, not stretching for any distance either to the west or south, is a strip of 

 deeper water averaging nearly 300 yards in breadth, separated by a second reef from the 

 lagoon. This outer reef varies from 10 to 60 yards in breadth, and is rather patchy and 

 ill-consolidated with no definite flat. It is built up almost entirely of corals, and approaches 

 the surface so closely that it can only be crossed at low tide through certain definite 

 channels. The false velu, as the inner lake or basin may be termed, has a general depth 

 of about 5 fathoms, against which the enclosing reef forms a sloping wall. Towards the 



