THE ATOLL OF MINIKOL 29 



a characteristic broad reef-flat and rough zone for one and a half miles to a small rocky 

 patch, Ragandi island, extending from thence in an east-north-easterly direction to the deep 

 lagoon passage. In the latter part the reef is much narrower and considerably broken up, 

 the boulder zone scarcely existing in some places. 



Section 2. Land. 



The surface of Minikoi island (Fig. 6) is sharply divided into two areas, an outer, 

 covered on the surface with large, loose, coral or rock masses, and an inner, with sand. 

 The line of junction is quite distinct, in some places a slight dip, in others an abrupt 

 step down to the sandy area. The rocky area fringes the island on its seaward face, 

 varying up to 150 yards in breadth near the village. Where the island is less than 100 

 yards in breadth, it alone is traversed in a section. The whole of the northern two miles 

 thus belongs to this area with the exception of a narrow sandy patch against the lagoon 

 at Boni-Kodi. South of Mou-Rambu point the rocky area narrows somewhat, especially in 

 Ko-Vari Bay and between Rocbera and Teveratu points, where it is in places only 70 to 

 80 yards broad, being indeed generally less than 100 yards. 



In the rocky area the surface is covered with masses of coral or limestone, some 

 round, others flat slabs, weighing up to 1 cwt. or even more. To the north of Mou-Rambu 

 they are much larger than to the south, where blown sand also has to some e.xtent inter- 

 mingled. All the surface masses are pitted, and eaten into sharp points by the rain, which 

 rapidly drains through them. No soil has formed, and layer after layer of blocks can be 

 removed, until a firm bed conglomerate within tidal limits is at last reached. The whole 

 is covered with timber, or woody herbage, the roots of which extend down even into the 

 conglomerate. On the surface the masses have much the same appearance, allowing for 

 rain, as they have on a tidal beach. If the outer blocks however be removed, Madrepora, 

 Pocillopora, and other branching corals are found with their stems still unbroken, while 

 massive species have their calicles and septa even yet entire, absolutely negativing the 

 possibility of a beach-origin for the rocky area. 



Speaking quite generally, the island attains its maximum height toward the seaward 

 side, and slopes gradually to the lagoon. To ascertain the height accurately, I ran six 

 sections across the island, leaving one broad gap between the lighthouse and the village, 

 where the growth of coconut and other timber was too dense to allow of rides being cut. 

 Even there, however, I obtained a few partial sections in from the seaward beach. The 

 inner part of the reef-flat, where the latter exists, lies at the mean low-tide level, and 

 all heights are taken as above this, since it must be regarded as the upward limit, to 

 which the various organisms can build their reef The sections give the following measure- 

 ments (Figs. 6 and 7). 



