THE MARQUESAS. 



Plates 2, 3, 200, and Fig. 1. 



On the 14th of September we obtained our first view of the Mar- 

 quesas Islands, Hatutu, distant about ten miles. This island is quite 

 bai-ren, and seen from the north presents no such striking shores as 

 tho.se of Nukuhiva. 



The appearance of the coast line of Nukuhiva and of its slopes clearly 

 indicates the immense amount of erosion to which the Marquesas Islands 

 have been subjected. Steaming along the southern coast from off Chicka- 

 koff Point past Tai oa Bay to Tai o-hae, one follows a huge, loft}^ nearly 

 vertical wall (PI. 2, fig. 1), broken into by the deep valleys facing 

 the bays and harbors of that part of the island.' To the rear of these 

 rises, to a height of over 3000 feet, the ridge which forms the backbone 

 of Nukuhiva and separates the vallej^s fronting on the north from those 

 facing the south and east. 



On the northeast shore a number of needle-like peaks have been 

 left at Adam and Eve Point, and peculiarly shaped rocks stand out 

 prominently at the entrance of Comptroller Bay and to the north of 

 Cape Martin. The southwest point is also marked by a prominent 

 line of cliffs projecting beyond the general outline of the promontory. 

 The western outline of Nukuhiva is quite unbroken, its face formed 

 by a rather gentle uniform barren slope, stretching from the highest 

 central summit to the shore. On the southwest point of Ua pu occur 

 sharp pinnacles and cones of disintegration similar to those of the 

 north shore of Nukuhiva. 



1 The finest examples of erosion in Xukuhiva are found on the face of the cliffs forming the 

 ridge on the west side of Tai oa Bay (PI. 2, fig. 1). 



1 



