Mr Gardiner, The Atoll of Minikoi. 25 



washing away as evidenced by (1) its narrowness and steepness, 

 (2) a small sand cliff terminating it above, and (3) numerous 

 fallen coconut trees. 



The north part of the island is composed almost entirely of 

 an agglomerate limestone rock, such a rock as is being formed at 

 the present day on any reef in this region freely exposed to the 

 ocean. By the lagoon a little sand is in one place found. The 

 rock further is found as a fringe on the seaward face of the whole 

 of Minikoi island, and also forms the islands of Wiringili and 

 Ragandi. To the north of Minikoi the lagoon face is everywhere 

 rapidly washing away. It has a cliff above, varying up to 10 feet 

 in height, a narrow rocky beach and off this a flat reef, just 

 covered at low tide, about 130 yards broad. On the inner half of 

 this reef and in the beach are a number of rocky masses, or 

 pinnacles, exposed. On these many of the corals are in the 

 position of growth and little broken ; and in the cliff the coral 

 masses lie more or less horizontally. 



The beach on the seaward face north of Mou-Rambu Point is 

 also very steep with, in places, a cliff above ; it is mainly formed 

 of coral masses, which have been part of the rock of the island. 

 They are often much rounded, but even after storms the beach 

 shows no signs of any additions of recently living corals from 

 seaward. There is no reef to seaward as is found ordinarily in 

 such a position, but there is a flat, about 30 yards broad, covered 

 with low green algae, sloping 2 feet and consisting of three ill- 

 defined terraces, strewn with pinnacles. Outside the slope drops 

 to 2 fathoms, and then attains its ordinary character outside 

 atolls. South of Mou-Rambu Point the beach decreases in steep- 

 ness, and the terrace formation of the flat gives place to a reef, 

 closely resembling the seaward reef of Funafuti island. It 

 reaches a maximum breadth of 120 yards, has a marked reef-flat 

 at the low tide level with little or no coral growth and a broken 

 buttressed edge with masses growing up outside, gradually 

 joining on to the same. Corals are of little importance, nullipores 

 covering the whole edge as off Rotuma and on the most exposed 

 reefs of the Fiji Group. 



At the south-west end of Minikoi the fringe of rock continues 

 into a well-marked rough (or boulder) zone, covered completely 

 only at springs. This joins it to Wiringili and thence to Ragandi, 

 continuing round, though less marked, to the deep channel at the 

 north-east corner of the atoll. It is formed largely of loose coral 

 blocks, but among these are found a number of masses, which 

 actually form part of the reef itself. To seaward the reef has 

 the same features as off the south of Minikoi. Against the ships' 

 channel the older natives of the atoll remember the existence of 

 an island with three coconut trees, called Tori-Gandu. 



