16 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 



large proportion of them are in a state of activity, and 

 several have devastated the surrounding country within 

 the historic era. Many are perpetually smoking, while 

 others have been frequently in eruption since the occupa- 

 tion of the country by Europeans, and have often been 

 accompanied by disastrous earthquakes. Hardly less 

 remarkable than the extent and continuity of this belt 

 of volcanoes is the complete absence of all volcanic vents 

 in the surrounding districts. The great island of Borneo, 

 and all of Celebes except the extreme northern point, are 

 absolutely free from all signs of recent volcanic action ; 

 and the same may be said of almost every island which 

 lies on either side of the band — as the Peninsula of 

 Malacca, Madura, Sumlm, Ceram, etc. In all these 

 countries we have ancient crystalline rocks, granite, 

 and extensive Tertiary beds, but no indication of volcanic 

 outbursts. From the acknowledged fact of the very 

 general vicinity of active volcanoes to the ocean, we may 

 perhaps interpret this phenomenon as pointing out to us, 

 in this great volcanic band, the outer limits of very 

 ancient continents, while the lands on either side have 

 once formed inland portions of those continents. This 

 agrees sufficiently well with what we know of the exist- 

 ing distribution of animal life, if we suppose Celebes and 

 the other islands to the eastward, as far as the volcanic 

 belt, to have been separated from Asia at a very early 

 period, when its fauna assimilated much more with that 

 of Australia than it does now ; while the islands to the 

 west of Celebes were only separated from the continent 

 at a very much later epoch, after they had participated 

 in all the more recent and higher developments of its 

 flora and fauna. This view will explain some of those 

 great peculiarities of the fauna of Celebes to which we 

 shall have to refer when treatiuQ- of that island. 



