UPOLU. 327 
Nuutele, represented in the following sketch, preserves most nearly 
its original crater shape. ‘Two-thirds of the old crater yet stand, though 
much worn by the rains and sea. ‘The island is a large amphitheatre, 
NUUTELE, AS SEEN FROM THE NORTHWEST. 
near five hundred feet high, opening to the northeast. Within the 
horns of the crescent, the land has a steep but even slope on all sides, 
and is densely wooded. A coral beach, and, beyond it, a native vil- 
lage under its cocoanut trees, lie at the head of the bay. On the 
outside the sea washes against a naked cliff or precipice, which ex- 
tends to the summit of the ridge. All the exterior slopes of the once 
NUUTELE, AS SEEN FROM THE SOUTHEAST. 
regular cone have been carried off by the sea, and only a narrow 
ridge, curving round in a crescent shape, remains. The present 
breadth of the island is three-fourths of a mile. In the face of the 
cliff, the stratification of the tufa and its structure are well exposed 
for examination. We trace with beautiful distinctness the many 
overlapping layers, and the varying directions and curvings of the 
lines that stripe the bold and naked bluff,—evidence of the successive 
depositions in the course of its formation. The dip is, in all instances, 
large, generally between twenty and thirty degrees. The stratifica- 
tion is very distinct, and, although the layers average a foot in thick- 
ness, we may often distinguish a subdivision into lamine but a fraction 
of an inch thick. 
The other islands are like Nuutele in the stratification of the tufa, 
and show equally well the inclined layers in the face of the bluffs. 
They have suffered so extensive degradations from the sea, that we 
scarcely trace any resemblance to the original craters: only a small 
