CORAL REEFS. 349 



excellent view of some reefs within the Barrier ; 

 whether they encircled an islet, or were wholly be- 

 neath the water, their form was circular, although 

 from the ship, and indeed any where, viewed from a 

 less height, they appeared oval-shaped. This de- 

 tection of my own previously erroneous impressions, 

 seemed to account for the recurrence in charts 

 of elongated shaped reefs, others having doubtless 

 fallen into the same error. It is very remarkable 

 that on the S. E. or windward side of these coral 

 reefs, the circle is of a compact and perfect form, as 

 if to resist the action of the waves, while on the 

 opposite side they were jagged and broken.* 



The S. W. side of the peak rises perpendicu- 

 larly from a grassy flat, which stretches across that 

 part of the island, separating two bays, the beaches 

 of which with the rest on the island are composed of 

 granulated quartz, and coarse shingle. A stream 

 of water, rising in the peak, runs through the 

 green, while a few low gum trees grow in small 

 detached clumps ; a ship may therefore procure 

 both water and fuel ; finding this to be the 

 case, and as it was a convenient stopping place, 

 we made a plan of the island, connecting it with 

 those in the immediate neighbourhood. It is the 

 more advantageous as an anchorage, in that it can 

 be reached during the night, whereas this could not 

 be done in the inner channel near Turtle Islands, 



* In the Pacific the islets are generally on the weatherside of 

 the lagoon reefs. 



