308 A. Agassiz — Expedition to the Maldives. 



were remnants of reef flats which once rose to a height of 

 from three to four feet greater than they do at the present 

 day. 



If the existing conditions at the Maldives have been 

 brought about by subsidence, it is strange we should not find 

 anywhere on this extensive plateau, especially all the way 

 from the northernmost atolls as far as Kolomadulu, some trace, 

 some outlier or some central projecting rock indicating the 

 nature of the rocks composing the underlying plateau forming 

 the base upon which the innumerable atolls of the Maldives 

 have been formed. The conditions are in many ways similar 

 to those of the Lau Islands on the eastern plateau of "Fiji. 

 But there the elevation has been considerable (to a height of 

 1,000 feet), and everywhere indications are found of the char- 

 acter and age of the underlying strata. A similar condition 

 exists in the Paumotus, where some of the tertiary elevated 

 reefs attain an elevation of about 300 feet. At the Maldives 

 there is, however, only evidence of a very slight elevation. 



Our explorations were immensely facilitated from the exist- 

 ence of the admirable charts published by the Admiralty of 

 the Survey of the Maldives by Captain Moresby and Lieut. 

 Powell from 1834 to 1836. The accuracy of these charts is 

 something wonderful when we remember the conditions under 

 which the surveys were made nearly 70 years ago, with sailing 

 vessels and row boats. In our extensive and intricate naviga- 

 tion among the Maldives we were guided absolutely by these 

 charts and never found them in error. Of course some minor 

 changes have occurred on the reef flats, such as the disappear- 

 ance of an islet, or of a bank, or the addition of a sand bar and 

 the junction of adjoining islands or islets on the same reef 

 flats. Otherwise the charts stand today as they did 70 years 

 ago, a monument to the unsurpassed skill of the surveyors of 

 those days. It was a simple task to pick out one's work in 

 each atoll by an examination of the chart, and thus much time 

 was saved. 



In addition to the information to be derived from the charts, 

 Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner was kind enough on two occasions, 

 after his return from the Maldives, to give me valuable details 

 regarding many interesting localities. I can only close by 

 expressing my admiration for the amount of work Mr. Gardi- 

 ner was able to accomplish with the facilities at his command, 

 and for the pluck and energy displayed by him and his com- 

 panion, Mr. Cooper, in meeting, in native boats, the winds and 

 currents which impeded their progress at every point, to say 

 nothing of the constant discomforts to which they were sub- 

 jected during their stay in the Maldives. 



As soon as the necessary charts can be made, I hope to pub- 

 lish a preliminary report of our exploration, leaving the final 

 report to appear whenever the illustrations and photographs 

 taken on the trip can be prepared. 



