46 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as 



vatory movement is still proceeding, its ultimate result, some 

 thousand years hence, may be to unite that vast chain of 

 islands to one another, and to the continent of Asia, by the pe- 

 ninsula of Malacca on the one side, and the eastern coast of 

 China on the other, converting the Chinese sea into a vast in- 

 land lake. Further eastwai'd, the Salomon Isles, which are 

 also uprising, may be united into one narrovv ridge, 500 miles 

 long ; and the New Hebrides, Sandwich Isles, and Navigators' 

 Isles, may undergo a similar change. For other examples we 

 refer to the work. 



This theory explains the phenomena under consideration 

 better than any other which has been proposed, and it is not 

 at variance with the principles of geology, which teach us, 

 that some parts of the crust of the globe are rising, and others 

 subsiding at the present day. It seems to us, however, that 

 it is attended with difficulties, of which some are perhaps ap- 

 parent but others are real. 



First, The anomalous facts are rather numerous. An in- 

 spection of the map shews that atolls and barrier reefs occur 

 in " areas of elevation,'' and fringing reefs and volcanoes in 

 " areas of subsidence," unless we confine these areas within 

 very narrow limits. We grant, however, that this objection 

 may admit of an answer. For instance, in an area that is 

 rising, corals may take root upon a subaqueous rock or bank 

 when it comes within less than 200 feet of the surface, and 

 raise upon it an atoll. Again, a volcano like that of Monte 

 Nuovo, near Naples, may break out in an area that is station- 

 ary or subsiding ; and thus the indications of elevation and 

 subsidence may be found intermingled. 



Secondly, If the theory is correct, we would expect to find 

 in areas of elevation, fringing reefs in a great variety of stages 

 — some 2 or 3 feet above low water, some 2 or 3 yards, 

 some with the lagoon channel almost, and others with it al- 

 together, obliterated. That there are examples of this transi- 

 tion from the fringing reef to the coral rock on dry land, and 

 that corals are found at considerable heights, we do not deny ; 

 but they occur, in our opinion, much more rarely than they 

 ought to do, considering that the areas supposed to be upris- 

 ing are of great extent, and many of them often visited and 

 well known. 



