PAEIWARA ISLAND. "39 1 



ang-le is occupied by a rounded hill projecting* as a 

 headland with rocky cliffs ; and these two opposite 

 portions are connected by low land forming" a sandy 

 beach on two of the sides. The island is covered 

 with long coarse g'rass growing- in tufts ; there are 

 also some pandanus trees of two kinds (P. spiralis 

 and P. pedunculata), and some low brush of stunted 

 bushy trees, their tops matted tog^ether, and indi- 

 cating* by the dii'ection in which their branches are 

 bent that the prevailing- wind is fi'om the south-east. 

 Strictl}^ speaking, there is no soil upon the island : 

 what may, however, be considered as such consists 

 of the disintegrated calcareous rock, on the low part 

 mixed up Avith sand. This rock, acted upon by the 

 weather, has a tendency to fall down in large 

 masses, leaving cliffs, steep and rugged in some 

 places and smooth in others ; in colour it varies 

 from Avhite to red, and is usually of a light piuk. 

 Behind one of the beaches, a few feet distant from 

 high water mark, I observed a bank twelve feet high 

 of slightly agglutinated coral sand in parallel beds, 

 mixed up with large depositions of weather-worn 

 shells: Tridacna, Sippopus, Strmnbus, ^'c, all of 

 species now living on the reef. At one end this 

 deposit appears to have been tilted up, forming a 

 slight ridge stretching across the low part of the 

 island. The shores in some places are fringed with 

 coral conglomerate composed of shells and sand, 

 fragments of coral, and rolled pieces of rock from 

 above. The reef surrounding the islands does not 



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