244 "ALBATROSS" TROPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITIO]Sr. 



from three to four feet at about half tide ; inside of the outer line of 

 breakers, for a short distance, a depth of from two to two and a half 

 fathoms is found, with numerous heads of corals reaching to within one 

 foot or eighteen inches of the surface. 



At the head of the bight in the larger bay near the village, the beach is 

 steep ; it consists of fine sand passing gi^aduallj into shingle at each end, 

 this, in its turn, giving place to beach rock or coral breccia towards the 

 seaward part of the shore. The sea face of the bay is composed of compar- 

 atively recent beach rock conglomerate, or breccia, extending to the gap on 

 the west side of the bay, about two thirds of the distance to the lagoon. 

 This rock is about two feet above high-water mark ; above it rises a beach 

 of shingle and small rolled pieces of coral, having the general character of 

 the breccia which constitutes the beach rock. 



None of the outliers of beach rock conglomerate on the sea beach, to 

 the east of the bay, rise to more than two feet above high-water mark ; the 

 beach conglomerate is formed of fragments of modern corals and shells, 

 washed inland from the outlying barrier reef, and cemented with coral sand. 



To the east of the bay the sea beach between the reaches of beach rock 

 conglomerate is composed of extremely fine coral sand with scattered 

 patches of reddish particles; they are similar to the red earth characteristic 

 of limestone districts. Immediately above the fine sand, and rising some- 

 times to a height of seven to nine feet above high-water mark, a mass of 

 coral fragments has been thrown up, evidently derived from the outlying 

 reef platform. ' These fragments become gradually smaller as one travels 

 inland, and at a distance of about 300 feet from the beach they become a 

 fine gray sand composed of the eroded and decomposed coral fragments 

 washed in from the beach. No part of the island behind the beach was 

 more than four feet in height ; near the centre of the island the soil was 

 wet and of a putty-like consistency ; back of the village it is composed of 

 coral sand, cemented in some places into a soft rock ; here and there lie 

 scattered fragments of coral, more or less weather-worn. The natives have 

 dug holes to a depth of two to three feet, and at the bottom of these is 

 found the same material as that which characterizes the surface. Above 

 the high-water mark the lagoon beach is steep, but slopes more gently into 



