216 PHENOMENON OF THE TIDE. 
winds blow without intermission, and the sky is 
always serene. For this reason, what is here 
called the summer, might pass for the actual 
winter; and as the roads of Matarai are open 
to the west wind, it is advisable for ships visit- 
ing Tahaiti at this season, to run into the har- 
bour, which lies eight miles west of Venus 
Point. It is spacious, formed by coral reefs, 
protected against all winds, and has two en- 
trances so convenient, that ships may sail either 
in or out with almost any wind. 
The ebb and flow of the tide in the Matarai 
Bay differs entirely from the ordinary rules, 
and appears wholly uninfluenced by the moon, 
to which it is everywhere else subject. The 
rise and fall is very inconsiderable. Every 
noon the whole year round, at the moment the 
sun touches the meridian, the water is highest, 
and falls with the sinking sun till midnight. 
This phenomenon serves, as well as the sun’s 
motion, to supply the place of clocks to the 
inhabitants. 
According to Humboldt, the altitude of the 
highest mountain in Tahaiti is ten thousand 
