MULAKU. 119 



Mulaku and Felidu resemble more the groups forming the single line 

 like Kolumadulu and Haddummati than the groups forming parts of the 

 double chain, like the Nilandus to the west and the Males to the north, 

 though there are more faros on the outer faces of the northern groups than 

 in the southern atolls. In many cases, especially in the southern groups, 

 it is difficult to determine the mode of formation of the faros and their 

 enclosed lagoons, and to decide whether they are formed, as seems to be 

 the case in the southern part of the western reef of South Nilandu, by the 

 coalescence of numerous patches growing up parallel to the inner face of 

 the reef flat, and enclosing thus a long lagoon, as in the long reef flat on the 

 east face of South Nilandu, and as may have been the case also in the forma- 

 tion of the lagoons within the long narrow reef flats on the eastern face of 

 Mulaku ; or by the junction of independent faros. 



There ai-e few rings within the area of Mulaku, all of a small size, and 

 only one inner island, Mulaku, facing the central pass of the east face of the 

 group, but a multitude of small banks, mainly on the western side. The 

 western face of Mulaku is flanked by a number of small irregularly shaped 

 faros enclosing shallow lagoons ; some of them are crescentic with widely 

 separated horns ; the faros forming the northern and northeastern faces 

 are larger. The east face is flanked by two great reef flats ; the northern 

 one encloses two lagoons near the broad eastern horn, with six fathoms 

 of water and a smaller one near its southern extremity. On the southern 

 reef flat there are three long lagoons with six fathoms of water. The 

 eastern faros are studded with chains of islands constituting the principal 

 land of Mulaku, as there are only a couple of small islands on the faros of 

 the northeastern and western face. The northeastern face is bounded by 

 four reef flats with long spits at the angles trending west. 



Mulaku is interesting as being the northernmost of the Maldive groups, 

 which to some extent assumes the appearance of some of the larger atolls 

 of the Paumotus. This is shown by the land rim of the eastern face, which 

 consists of only two long reef flats, enclosing, it is true, lagoons, as when the 

 faros are numerous and small. Yet it is possible that these large faros 

 have, as in the case of the larger flats of South Nilandu, grown up from the 

 coalescence of adjacent small reef patches, and not from the regular upward 



