II 



EVIDENCE OF RECENT EMERGENCE 



Naindi Bay and the mouth of the Salt Lake Passage, usually 

 forming low islets, of which the smaller about 12 feet in height 

 often assume, through the erosion of the sea at their base, that 

 peculiar mushroom-shape, so characteristic of upheaval on reef- 

 bound coasts. The passage into the Salt Lake lies in a slightly 

 elevated reef-mass ; and the islet which rises up in its centre to 

 about a foot above the water-level is mainly formed of coral blocks, 

 although I did not find any remains of coral on the low neck of 

 land intervening between the Salt Lake and Natewa Bay. East- 

 ward from the Salt Lake Passage to Nanutha in the vicinity of 

 Fawn Harbour low cliffs of coral limestone, six to eight feet high 

 and occasionally displaying massive corals in position, most 

 frequently constitute the sea-border, rarely, however, extending 

 more than a few paces inland or attaining there a greater elevation 

 than 12 or 15 feet. 



This limitation of the upraised reef-belt to the immediate 

 vicinity of the coast is true of all this district. It is only when the 

 sea-border is low and swampy that it is found 100 or 200 yards 

 inland ; and in any case as one follows it inland it soon gives place 

 to the fossiliferous mud-rocks and tuffs of the interior. It should 

 be noted that the upraised reefs of this region were rarely observed 

 at greater heights than 20 feet above the sea, in fact usually at a 

 much lower level. The exceptional occurrence in mass of reef- 

 limestone at a height of 250 feet in a coast hill between Naithekoro 

 and Naindi therefore lends colour to the idea that the elevated reefs 

 formerly extended farther inland and that they have been stripped 

 off by denudation. 



On the north coast of the Natewa Peninsula elevated reefs are 

 of very rare occurrence. I walked along the whole of that coast 

 from the head of Natewa Bay to within four miles of Kumbulau 

 Point and only found them in the locality, one to one and a half 

 miles west of the mouth of the river Ndreke-ni-wai. Here there 

 were two islets, 20 to 25 feet high and lying close to the shore, 

 which were formed entirely of coral-rock, massive corals occurring 

 in position in their lower part. Although, however, upraised reefs 

 are so scantily to be found on this coast, other proofs of upheaval 

 are to be observed in the fossiliferous tuffs exposed occasionally by 

 the beach. On the east coast of this peninsula, between Ndevo 

 and Loa, submarine tuffs and sandstones, at times fossiliferous, 

 were alone noticed. 



Upraised reefs are also very rare on the north coast of Natewa 

 Bay. Here again I traversed the whole coast from the head of the 



