XVII 



Atolls 



FUNAFUTI in the Ellice Islands is a classic coral atoll; shaped 

 like a gigantic pear, the lagoon is i 3 miles long in the north 

 and south direction and 9 miles from east to west. The 

 lagoon is about 2 £ fathoms deep and is surrounded by a thin line 

 of reef which is broken here and there, mostly upon the leeward 

 or western side; such channels permit vessels to navigate from 

 the deep ocean outside to a safe and secure anchorage within. 

 Time and the battering of the waves on the reefs have thrown 

 sufficient coral debris above sea level for floating coconuts and 

 other seeds to have established themselves as trees and bushes 

 from which organic matter has in turn fallen to form soil upon 

 which Man, travelling south-eastward into the Pacific some 2000 

 years ago, was able to settle, being guided by land birds such as 

 the Golden Plover on their migrations through Micronesia. 



There is one village on Funafuti, and that lies on the main 

 island of Fongafale, which is about seven miles long but only about 

 ^00 yards across at its widest part from the lagoon to the white 

 breakers pounding the eastern shore. It is here that the village is 

 situated; the cooking huts along the shore of the lagoon, and the 

 houses, widely spaced, among the tall coconut palms behind 

 them. 



Challenger spent the night anchored precariously on a shallow 

 spit outside the lagoon, for it was inadvisable to navigate the 

 narrow channels through the reefs until the sun was well up in 

 the sky and illuminating the amber-coloured coral flats and the 

 pale green of the shallows between which the ship had to pass 

 in the deep blue water, turning this way and that as the channel 

 twisted its way into the safety of the lagoon. Once inside the 

 atoll the run across to the village was simple enough, and even 

 before the slip was knocked from the cable a little party were 

 seen in their boat well on their way off from the village to board 

 the ship. 



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