﻿42 
  A. 
  Agassiz 
  — 
  Explorations 
  of 
  the 
  u 
  Albatross 
  P 
  

  

  Mataiwa 
  could 
  readily 
  be 
  closed 
  to 
  any 
  access 
  to 
  it 
  by 
  the 
  sea 
  ? 
  

   as 
  it 
  now 
  has 
  only 
  one 
  very 
  narrow 
  and 
  very 
  shallow 
  boat 
  pas- 
  

   sage 
  connecting 
  the 
  lagoon 
  with 
  the 
  sea 
  on 
  the 
  lee 
  side. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  with 
  great 
  interest 
  that 
  we 
  approached 
  Makatea, 
  as 
  it 
  

   is 
  the 
  only 
  high 
  elevated 
  island 
  of 
  which 
  Dana 
  speaks 
  as 
  occur- 
  

   ring 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  Paumotus. 
  For 
  though 
  he 
  mentions 
  some 
  

   others 
  as 
  possibly 
  having 
  been 
  elevated 
  5 
  to 
  6 
  feet, 
  yet 
  he 
  con- 
  

   sidered 
  them 
  all, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  Makatea 
  (Metia 
  or 
  Aurora, 
  of 
  Dana) 
  

   as 
  modern 
  elevated 
  reefs. 
  Yet 
  from 
  the 
  very 
  description 
  given 
  

   by 
  him 
  of 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  cliffs 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  

   Makatea, 
  I 
  felt 
  satisfied 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  composed 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  ele- 
  

   vated 
  coralliferous 
  limestone 
  so 
  characteristic 
  of 
  the 
  elevated 
  

   reefs 
  of 
  Fiji, 
  and 
  which 
  from 
  the 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  fossils 
  and 
  

   the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  rock, 
  both 
  Mr. 
  Dall 
  and 
  myself 
  have 
  been 
  

   led 
  to 
  regard 
  as 
  of 
  Tertiary 
  age. 
  

  

  As 
  we 
  approached 
  the 
  island 
  from 
  the 
  northwest 
  it 
  soon 
  

   became 
  evident 
  that 
  it 
  presented 
  all 
  the 
  characteristics 
  to 
  which 
  

   I 
  had 
  become 
  so 
  accustomed 
  in 
  Fiji, 
  and, 
  upon 
  landing, 
  this 
  

   was 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  case. 
  The 
  cliffs 
  had 
  the 
  same 
  appearance 
  

   as 
  those 
  of 
  Yatu 
  Leile, 
  Ongea, 
  Mango, 
  Kambara, 
  and 
  many 
  

   other 
  elevated 
  islands 
  of 
  Fiji. 
  There 
  were 
  fewer 
  fossils 
  per- 
  

   haps, 
  but 
  otherwise 
  the 
  petrographic 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  rock 
  was 
  

   identical 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  Fiji. 
  Mr. 
  Meyer 
  collected 
  upon 
  the 
  top 
  

   of 
  the 
  second 
  terrace 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  fossils 
  similar 
  in 
  all 
  respects 
  

   to 
  those 
  we 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Fiji 
  elevated 
  coralliferous 
  limestones. 
  

  

  The 
  southwestern 
  extremity 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  sloped 
  gradually 
  

   to 
  the 
  sea 
  and 
  showed 
  two 
  well-defined 
  terraces. 
  The 
  lines 
  of 
  

   these 
  two 
  terraces 
  could, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  be 
  traced 
  along 
  the 
  faces 
  of 
  

   the 
  vertical 
  cliffs 
  by 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  caverns 
  along 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  

   those 
  levels, 
  similar 
  to 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  caverns 
  indicating 
  the 
  line 
  

   of 
  present 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  cliffs. 
  As 
  we 
  

   steamed 
  around 
  the 
  island 
  there 
  were 
  distinct 
  indications 
  of 
  

   two 
  additional 
  terraces 
  on 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  vertical 
  cliffs 
  on 
  the 
  

   weather 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  island. 
  The 
  position 
  of 
  these 
  terraces 
  was 
  

   usually 
  more 
  clearly 
  seen 
  along 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  cliffs 
  at 
  prom- 
  

   inent 
  points 
  where 
  they 
  were 
  undercut 
  much 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  figured 
  

   them 
  for 
  certain 
  cliffs 
  in 
  Yatu 
  Leile, 
  in 
  Fiji, 
  in 
  my 
  report 
  on 
  

   the 
  islands 
  and 
  coral 
  reefs 
  of 
  that 
  group. 
  

  

  Of 
  course 
  it 
  is 
  premature, 
  from 
  this 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  

   western 
  extremity 
  of 
  the 
  Paumotus, 
  to 
  base 
  any 
  general 
  con- 
  

   clusions 
  regarding 
  the 
  mode 
  of 
  formation 
  of 
  those 
  atolls 
  ; 
  cer- 
  

   tainly 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  gone 
  there 
  is 
  absolutely 
  nothing 
  to 
  show 
  

   that 
  the 
  atolls 
  of 
  the 
  Paumotus 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  formed 
  in 
  an 
  

   area 
  of 
  elevation 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  Fiji. 
  The 
  evidence 
  in 
  

   Pairoa 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  atolls 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  Paumotus 
  is 
  very 
  defi- 
  

   nite. 
  Makatea 
  is 
  an 
  elevated 
  mass 
  of 
  coralliferous 
  limestone 
  

   similar 
  in 
  all 
  respects 
  to 
  masses 
  like 
  Yatu 
  Yara, 
  Thithia, 
  and 
  

  

  