GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN. 31 



Group to tlie west and the Marshall Islands to the east. Most of 

 them are volcanic islands or coral reefs. Though their number is as 

 great as 1,458, the total area is scarcely 2,149 sq. km., or nearly 

 equal to that of a small prefecture in Japan proper. During the 

 World War, they were occupied by our navy, and by the Treaty of 

 Peace they became a mandate of the Empire in 1918. They are now 

 administered by a governor whose seat is in the Palau Islands. 



Mariana Islands. They were called the Ladrones by their discov- 

 erer, the celebrated navigator Magellan. They are a southward exten- 

 sion of the volcanic chain of Fuji of Japan proper. Arranged in a 

 slightly curved arc, they make a chain of volcanic islands, some of 

 which are active at present, for example, Guguan and Pagan. The 

 largest island in the group next to American Guam is Saipan, which 

 is well inhabited and has recently become noted for its cotton and 

 sugar plantations. 



Caroline Group. These islands are situated on a broad submarine 

 plateau to the south of the deep Mariana trench. The principal islands 

 of this group are of volcanic origin, but they are not so fresh as the 

 volcanoes of the Marianas, and are so highly dissected that it is 

 difficult to restore in imagination their original forms. Among them 

 Ponape is the largest island, and Kusai comes next. The precipitous 

 cliff of basaltic lava flow in the -cape Jokaji in the former and the 

 fanny pinnacles on the top of the latter show how strong was the 

 sculj'tural process in these islands. The Truk Islands in the middle 

 of the group are a very good example of the relics of a sunken and 

 highly eroded volcano. They are situated in an extensive lagoon, 

 which is surrounded by a long atoll. Of course, coral reefs of various 

 forms {ire well developed everywhere in this group, both independently 

 and along the volcanic islands. 



Yap and Palau are separated from each other and from other 

 islands by deep submarine trenches. Very remarkably, the small 

 island of Yap is a remnant of an old land of schists and other older 

 sedimentaries. It is also noted as "■ The island of stone money " on 

 account of a curious custom of the aborigines, wlio still use large discs 

 of marble, which are brought from the distant island of Palau, for 

 money. Beautiful pearl shells are also used for the same purpose. 

 The island is an important cable junction in the western Pacific. 

 Cables run to the Celebes in the southwest, to Guain in the northeast, 

 and to Shano-hai and the Rvukvu Islands in the northwest. 



