^raRAKITA. 211 



The southern face of Nurakita is covered with large blocks of beach rock, 

 alternating with steep coral sand and coral shingle beaches. The beaches 

 have been driven inland, running in as long fingers between the low scrub 

 vegetation which borders the sunirait of the beach and even extending as 

 far as the trunks of the cocoanut trees which grow on the inner face of the 

 outer belt of bushes. On the southwest side we noticed a few very large 

 boulders of beach rock and one or two blocks resembhng old coralliferous 

 limestone, but in geiieral the boulders were composed of beach rock. 



The approaches to the island are rather shallow ; a mile off we could 

 readily see bottom, and detect extensive patches of corals scattered between 

 stretches of coral sand at a depth of from sixteen to eighteen fathoms. A 

 wide flat extends around the island ; the only channels which make land- 

 ing possible occur between masses of beach rock on the outer edge of the 

 beach. A sort of secondary fringing barrier reef is found on the north 

 point where a small platform of shingle has been thrown up on the outer 

 edge of the reef flat, which must be from 150 to 200 feet distant from 

 the beach. 



On the south point a similar lagoon has been formed on the reef flat 

 platform, the outer rounded rim of which is edged by masses of Pocilli- 

 pores and of NuUipores, from two to three feet above low-water mark. 

 The edge of the outer rim is deeply gouged, and forms small channels in 

 which access can be had to the reef platform at low water. Both on the 

 east and on the north side, the beach is steep, is at least eight to nine feet 

 high, covered with coarse coral shingle extending to the edge of the outer 

 belt of bushes. The interior of the island forms a shallow dish surrounded 

 by high steep beaches which have been thrown up on the outer periphery 

 of the island. The island has no lagoon. 



We did not visit- Nukulailai ;^ judging from the chart, it presents no 

 characteristics different from those of Nukufetau or Funafuti, both of 

 which we examined. 



1 A. Chart 766. 



