MAIAKA. 245 



the lagoon itself. It is composed of coarse white coral sand ; the bottom of 

 the lagoon is formed of the same material for a distance of 100 to 200 yards 

 from the shore, where some of the huts of the village are built on piles. 



The southern part of Apamama is thickly covered with trees, mainly 

 Pandanus, Pisonias, and cocoanut trees, as well as with the usual belt of 

 low bushes on the outer face of the land rim. 



Maiana. • 



Plates 139, fig. 4.; 1^.0, fig. 1; 2'23 ; 2:24., fig. 6. 



From Apamama we proceeded to Maiana,^ about forty miles to the north- 

 west ; it is a quadrilateral land rim, about nine miles long and six miles 

 broad (PL 224, fig. 6). The northeastern and southeastern faces form a 

 continuous land rim, while the northwestern and southwestern faces consist 

 of a broad reef flat with only here and there an islet or sand bar to indi- 

 cate its position. A boat passage leads into the lagoon on the west face 

 at the northern extremity of the island (PI. 224, fig. 6). Near the southern 

 horn of Maiana a steep, wide, fine coral sand beach extends from the belt of 

 vegetation towards the outer reef flat. It passes first into coral shingle, 

 then into beach rock conglomerate at its base, and slopes towards the outer 

 edge of the reef flat platform, which is edged by knolls of Pocillipores and 

 Nullipores. The comparatively steep slope of the reef platform differs from 

 that observed in other islands. On the sea face of the Pocillipore knolls 

 the slope is steep as it passes into deep water. Nowhere have we seen the 

 line of demarcation of the vegetation on the summit of the beach from the 

 fine sand and shingle of its slope, the beach rock conglomerate at its base, 

 the sloping reef platform, and the outer knoll of Nullipores, so well 

 defined as on the sea face of Maiana (PI. 139, fig. 4). The yellow color of 

 the beach rock, of the coral and beach rock shingle, is in marked contrast 

 with the glistening white coral sand, and in still more marked contras.t with 

 the reddish, the orange, and the violet of the encrusting Nullipores and of 

 the Pocillipore knolls on the outer edge of the reef platform. The pink 



1 H. 0. Chart 122; A. Chart 732. 



