252 James D. Dana, Esq., on 



land consisted for miles of an even wall of coral rock, ap- 

 parently six or eight feet above high tide. This wall was 

 broken into rude columns, or excavated with arches and 

 caverns; in some places the sea had carried it away from 

 fifty to one hundred rods, and then there followed again a 

 line of columns and walls, with occasional arches as before. 

 The reef, formerly lying at the level of low tide, had been 

 raised above the sea, and subsequently had undergone degra- 

 dation from the waves. The standing columns had some 

 resemblance in certain parts to the masses seen here and 

 there on the shore platforms of other islands ; but the latter 

 are only distantly scattered masses, while on this island, for 

 the greater part of the course, there were long walls of reef- 

 rock. The height moreover was greater, and they occurred 

 too on the leeward side of the island, ranging along nearly 

 it whole course. 



The elevation here indicated was at least six feet ; but it 

 may have been larger, as the observations were made from 

 ship-board. Thirty miles to the southward of Dean's Island, 

 we came to Metia, one of the most remarkable examples of 

 elevation in the Pacific. 



Metia. — This island has already been described, and its 

 elevation stated at two hundred and fifty feet. (See xii. 40.) 



Clermont Tonnerre,* according to Mr Couthouy, shews the 

 same evidence of elevation from Tridacnas as Honden Island. 

 Clermont Tonnerre and Honden are in the north-eastern 

 limits of the Paumotus. 



Elizabeth Island was early shewn to be an elevated coral 

 island by Beechey. This distinguished voyager represents 

 it as having perpendicular cliffs fifty feet in height. From 

 his description, it is obviously of the same character as Me- 

 tia ; the elevation is eighty feet. 



Dude's Island is described by Beechey as twelve feet high, 

 which would indicate an elevation of at least one or two feet. 



Osnaburgh Island, according to the same author, affords 

 evidence of having increased its height since the wreck of the 



* This island was not visited by the writer, as only the officers of the Vin- 

 s attempted to land on it. 



