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Mee ow Lee 
Ta ye a A : 
AGASSIZ: FIJI ISLANDS AND CORAL REEFS. 67 
the whole lagoon is covered with patches of corals and of reef rock, espe- 
cially in the southern and western parts. The island of Vatu Leile is 
a mass of elevated limestone rock, rising at the southern extremity to 
bluffs of about 30 feet on the western side. The series of bluffs forming 
WEST SIDE OF VATU LEILE. 
the western shore gradually increase in height as we go north, where at 
the most westerly point the bluffs are more than 100 feet in height 
(Plate 100). 
The bluffs of the western coast are vertical faces with rounded summits 
full of cavities and alternate with short coral sand beaches. On many 
parts of the fringing reef edging the west coast there are still left small 
mushroom-shaped rocks, fragments of elevated limestone rock once form- 
NORTHWEST POINT OF VATU LEILE. 
ing a part of the main island. The northern extremity of the island is 
full of caves. Judging from the color of the water, the outer slope of the 
reef flat towards deep water appears to be very gradual. The whole island 
slopes gently to the eastward, having gradually been denuded and eroded 
so as to form a low east shore line, with extensive flats off the north- 
eastern point. The west shore is protected by a fringing coast reef 
