170 A NATURALIST IN THE PACIFIC chap, 



valley cuts deeply in a southerly direction into the mountainous 

 backbone of the island. The site of the old town of Lovo lies 

 within the valley about two miles from its mouth. " Lovo " is the 

 Fijian word for a cannibal-oven ; and I gathered from my natives 

 that in the old times this vale was noted for its cannibal orgies. 

 It is occupied by the Nasawana tributary of the Lambasa River, 

 and often becomes so narrow that it may be described as a gorge.- 

 I followed the valley from its mouth, where it is elevated about 

 300 feet above the sea, for some miles in a southerly direction up 

 to a height of 1,000 feet, where the northern slope of the great 

 mountain-mass of Mbatini commences. 



On either side of the Lovo valley rise precipitous mountain- 

 slopes, displaying in their cliff-faces and in the large detached rock- 

 masses basic agglomerates. The same formation is also usually 

 displayed in the sides of the river. The blocks composing the 

 agglomerates are formed of the usual type of hemi-crystalline or 

 semi-vitreous blackish basaltic andesite so characteristic of these 

 deposits. It is generally compact, but is at times amygdaloidal. 

 Some distance below the old site of Lovo, and at an elevation of 

 about 500 feet above the sea, there is an interesting exposure in the 

 river-side, where the agglomerates overlie bedded coarse calcareous 

 basic tuffs containing large flat tests of foraminifera with pieces of 

 molluscan shells, and dipping about 15° S.W. These tuffs can be 

 traced up the valley towards Lovo. 



Displayed in mass in the bed of the river in the same locality,, 

 and beneath the submarine tuff just referred to, is a porphyritic 

 basaltic andesite (sp. gr. 279) containing but scanty interstitial, 

 glass, the felspar-lathes being "15 mm. in average length. It is- 

 referred to genus i of the augite-andesites. The same rock is- 

 exposed at intervals in the river-bed as far as Lovo, which is about 

 850 feet above the sea. At one place it exhibits a rudely columnar 

 structure, the columns being horizontal and 2 to 2^ feet in diameter, 

 the trend of the dyke-like mass being W. by S. and E. by N.. 

 Near Lovo a small dyke, 6 feet thick and trending N.N.W. and 

 S.S.E., pierces the agglomerate. It is composed of a somewhat 

 aphanitic augite-andesite closely resembling the rocks exposed in 

 the river-course for a mile or so above Lovo up to an elevation of 

 1,000 feet. In this upper part of the valley whilst agglomerates are 

 exposed in the cliffs and precipitous mountain-slopes on either sidcr 

 pyroxene-andesites, somewhat aphanitic in texture and with a 

 specific gravity of 2'68 to 27, are displayed in mass in the river 

 bed. These last-named rocks, which are closely similar to those 



