HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO 17 



which were collected by the author, under the direction of Professor 

 G. P. Merrill, Curator of Geology of the National Museum, will be found 

 in the collections of that institution. 



Haw aiian A rchipelago 



The Hawaiian archipelago is fully 1,725 miles in length, extends from 

 longitude 155° to 180° west, and includes many shoals and small islands 

 usually overlooked by geographers. These islands are central in the 

 great network of ocean highways between North America on the east 

 and Asia, with its islands, on the west. Commencing with the one most 

 remote, the following is the order, passing from the northwest to the 

 southeast : 



Ocean island. Nihoa or Bird island. 



Midway island. Lehua. 



Gambia shoal. Niihau. 



Pearl and Howes reef. Kaula. 



Lisiansky island. Kauai. 



Laysan island. Oahu. 



Maro reef. Molokai. 



Gardners island. Lanai. 



Unnamed shoal. Maui. 



French Frigate shoah Kahoolawe. 



Neckers island. Molokini. 



Frosts shoal. Hawaii. 



About half of this list is what are termed low islands, and these lie to 

 the northwest of the high islands. A limited number of soundings indi- 

 cate that the archipelago rises from a plateau 18,000 feet below the sur- 

 face of the sea, so that if the water were removed there would be seen a 

 range of mountains from 18,000 to 32,000 feet high. The peaks Avould 

 appear more slender than the needles of the Alps. 



It is supposed that each of these eminences started from the ocean 

 bottom as an igneous outburst. In case the lava continued to flow till a 

 submarine mountain was built up sufficiently near the surface to allow 

 the peaceable growth of coral polyps, there would have been superposed 

 on the top of the mound limestones of organic origin more or less ex- 

 tensive, according to circumstances. After the establishment of the coral 

 reefs, in case the islands sank gradually, as is assumed on the theory of 

 Darwin and Dana, the limestone would have continued to develop up- 

 ward, thus presenting columns of calcareous matter many thousand 

 feet high. If the subsidence were rapid the animals w r ould have ceased 

 to exist as soon as they reached unfavorable conditions, and there would 



