Ch. VI. DISTRIBUTION OF CORAL-REEFS. 173 



MM. Quoy and Graimard, 1 by finding that their descrip- 

 tions applied only to reefs of the fringing class, for I 

 knew that they had crossed both the Pacific and Indian 

 Oceans ; but my surprise ended in satisfaction, when I 

 discovered that all the islands which they had visited, 

 though several in number — namely, Mauritius, Timor, 

 New Guinea, the Mariana and Sandwich Archipelagoes 

 — conld be shown by their own statements to have 

 been elevated within a recent geological period. 



I will now enter on some details, showing how many of 

 the islands and coasts which from being fringed with reefs are 

 coloured red on our map, have been recently upraised. 



Sandwich Islands. — Several of these islands are fringed 

 with reefs, though Dana found very few corals at Hawaii ; 

 and almost every naturalist who has visited them has there 

 observed upraised corals and shells, apparently identical with 

 living species. The Rev. W. Ellis informs me that he 

 noticed round several parts of Hawaii, beds of coral detritus, 

 about twenty feet above the level of the sea, and where the 

 coast is low they extend far inland. Upraised coral-rock 

 forms a considerable part of the borders of Oahu ; and at 

 Elizabeth Island 2 it composes three strata, each about ten 

 feet thick. Nihau, which forms the northern, as Hawaii does 

 the southern end of the group (350 miles in length), likewise 

 seems to consist of coral and volcanic rocks. Mr. Couthouy 3 

 has lately described several upraised beaches and ancient reefs 

 with their surfaces perfectly preserved, as well as beds of 

 recent shells and corals, at the Islands of Maui, Morokai, 



1 Annales des Sciences Nat. torn. vi. p. 279, &c. 



2 Zoology of Captain Beech ey's Voyage, p. 176. See also MM. 

 Quoy and Gaimard in Annales des Sciences Nat. torn. vi. 



3 Kemarks on Coral Formations, p. 51. 



