310 "ALBATROSS" TEOPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITION. 



dee^j pass north of Maten Island ; there the lagoon sand has overwhelmed 

 the beach rock conglomerate, only a short stretch of shingle appearing on 

 the face of the central part of the beach. We could readily trace the sand 

 coming from the lagoon side, and gradually forcing its way over to the 

 sea face. The pass north of Maten has two lines of shoals blocking the 

 opening. Across the narrow submerged reef flat we could see many bars 

 extending far into the lagoon to the south of Maten Island, separated by 

 light green water, and here and there sand bars forming the beginning of 

 an islet, or reaches of beach rock conglomerate flanking the western side 

 of an incipient bar on the half-submerged reef flat. 



Takahave, on the western face of Likieb, is densely wooded ; it is 

 covered with tall hardwood trees; cocoanut trees are not found on the 

 island. The lagoon side is flanked by a sand beach, fully fifteen feet in 

 height. The beach rock conglomerate ledge crops out on the sea face 

 in the centre of the island ; it has been overwhelmed by lagoon sand at the 

 two ends. Coming from the north one can see on the extremity of Taka- 

 have the lagoon sand piled up on the eastern side of the coral shingle 

 beach, and partly blown over its highest parts. 



The south face of Likieb is convex to the north, flanked at the western 

 end b}' Lukunor, and at the eastern by Likieb Island. The western 

 extremity of Lukunor Island is extremely narrow ; the land rim is a mere 

 thread edged by a reef platform, formed by the destruction of the large 

 coral heads once growing upon it, and forming the pavement upon which, 

 on the lagoon side, the sand bars are formed. The reef flat will gradually 

 be changed into a bare solid flat, covered with Nullipores, so that it will 

 be difficult to distinguish the separate blocks forming the gigantic pavement 

 of flourishing coral heads on the lee face of the land rim. The coral heads 

 extend on the shelving shore into deep water ; they gradually disappear at a 

 depth of from twelve to sixteen fathoms. At the point where we examined 

 it in detail we could trace the extension of the boulder reef flat both on 

 the sea face and on the lagoon side. 



In the centre of the south face the south pass of Likieb opens between 

 the island of Eotile on the west (PI. 174, fig. 3) and the island of Agony on 

 the east (PI. 174, fig. 4), both flanked on the sea face by beach rock con- 



