DESCRIPTION OF SMALL ISLANDS OF THE ATOLL. 99 



MOTULOA, MOTUSANAPA AND TELELE. 



Leaving the island of Nukusavalivali, we at once commence tlie islands which have an easterly asjDCCt. 

 Their general appearance changes on this side. Though their foundations and materials are somewhat 

 similar to those of the western side, the shape of the islands themselves, as also the contour and 

 arrangements of the material forming them, have their own characteristics, and are sharply distinct from 

 those on the western side. The most southerly of these islands is Motuloa, and this, with Motusanapa 

 and Telele, forms a long stretch of about li miles of the narrow and regular land often found on 

 islets presenting their side to the S.E. trade-winds, ^A'ith their resulting currents. This extends from 

 the beach east of Nukusavalivali to the S.E. corner of the atoll. Though for some purposes INIotuloa 

 and the other two islands (Plate 5) may be considered as a whole in matters that are common to each, 

 any circumstances peculiar to one of them Anil be best considered under its own name. 



We -will take first what is common to each. The land comprising these three islands is one of the 

 most uniform and straight insular stretches of almost constant width to be found on the atoll. The 

 material of which it is composed on its lagoon side is characteristic of most of its length, as is that 

 also on the ocean side for more than its western half. It is also fairly well covered with fruitful 

 cocoanut trees, between which ferns, creepers and shrubs thrive, particularly on the western portion 

 of its siu'face where small areas of incipient solution exist. This is often the case on the eastern 

 islands near the boundary l^etween stretches of foraminiferal sand and fine and coarse coral and breccia 

 rub1)le. Outside the solution areas the roots of the trees become intertwined and matted together with 

 the finer material and pumice ; while outside the island on the eroded breccia near the platform, 

 where their roots are bathed ^yith. every tide, " Ngie " (Pemphis adchila) trees thrive in several parts 

 on the ocean side of the western half. For almost the entire length on the lagoon side, except at the 

 east end, these " Ngie " trees, with another and larger species, occupy the sloping projections of half- 

 eroded breccia which form the peculiar crenulated outline noticeable at this end of the atoll. Here the 

 nearly eroded breccia reposes on the very wide lagoon platform and forms headlands and bays, both being 

 submerged at high tide, all along this margin of these islands. Viewed from the lagoon side the 

 surfaces of these islands appear quite horizontal, and this is made more conspicuous by the matted roots 

 in many places projecting slightly above the looser material below. The latter is sometimes supported 

 by a small rubble bank resting against it, and at others the finer material of Avhich this side of the island 

 above the breccia sheet consists, is exposed in a low undermined cliif about 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet above 

 high water. Generally a very small storm bank of a foot or so in height surmounts the shelf of matted 

 roots which contains, in common with the general surface of these three islands, the drifted pumice 

 pebbles now buried underneath it, so that it must have been thrown up since the arrival of the pumice. 

 It also shows that the lagoon side of the island has been eroded and has consequently retreated since that 

 time, and that this process still continues. 



The lagoon platform is of great width, often near a quarter of a mile all along these three islands. On 

 slightly excavating at several places, Heliojwra ccendea was found, and appeared to form this platform, 

 probably with Pontes. Some areas of it are hidden by sand, and others by extensive thin sheets up to 

 30 yards in diameter of a large bivalve, Chaina imbricata, similar to those on the Heliopora nerulea plat- 

 forms near our landing place on the main island, where the large patches of this lamellibranch completely 

 hide the IIelioj)ora ccerulea ; so that only at places either where it has not been present or has since been 

 removed, can the nature of the underlying rock be ascertained. On this platform also a very fine matted 

 moss-like alga is remarkably abundant, forming wide areas in which occur numerous small bivalves 

 {Cardium fragum). This species is so abundant in the sand beaches along these three islands as to give 

 one at first sight the impression that it constitutes fully half of their material ; the bulk of that, 

 however, consists of Tinoporus bacuIahiM. 



The conspicuous feature of the ocean platform is the general uniformity of its width and its straightness 



o 2 



