110 



EASTERN GEOGRAPHY, 



Australian worlds, from which they arc sevurod not only by some of the 

 deepest waters on the glob*', bnt also by a fauna, ami to i large extent by 

 a lloni, pr. s.-n 1 tiii.: :i isurji rising iiiinibc-r of absolutely independent forms. 

 Here it will sullice to mention tho apices (nutmeg, clovi\ fcc.J of the> 

 Ilmda (sk'H, thu Halrirnsa, or Hog-duor, tho Supi-ntan (Anon tlcpressieornu), 

 half oy. h:*U' uulp]i->ih% and tin; curious iiwilefl, nr brush turkey, all peculiar 

 tn C'rl.'.l.i - :m-l :iLi.i.-.-iii isl.-s. VV"lii*n il wadded that < *• - 1 * - forms the 

 eastern limit of rnngn for the flquirnd ami brnor, and the western for thu 

 euscus, or eastern opossum of thg marsupial order, and further tliat itN 

 geological formation appears to be far older than that of the aurruuiHlijig 

 volcanic Sundanese groups, thu inference seems irresistible, that theoe 

 island* form a separate oceanic division inJi-pcndtrnt aliku of tin* Asiatic 

 and Australian worlds. Th«y appear to he the lu.»t eastern fragment* cif 

 rt vanished liiifirrin- eontiin-nl, wlili-l'i Sri i L • ■ r Iris .u r iv*'[i tin- nam.' of 

 Lomurta, and whoso farthest western extension is indicated by the great 

 island uf Mrulflgaaear^ Here have anrvived certain Mttjj organic types* 

 which were doubtless at ou<; tiuiu diLfa>ed over a far wi&tf range through- 

 out. :■. mioama continent,, whose ituhviidence has made room for the more 

 Team lly -appeared volcanic immation.H in the Eastern Archipelago. Tho 

 comparatively modern appearance of these volcanic lands has been noticed 

 by all careful observers j amongst others, by II. O. Forbes, who sneak* 

 of fossil plants and of nhells (Ostraja and TVcten) in West Java closely 

 resembling those in the adjacent seas, "and showing that an deration of 

 some 200 to 300 feet had taken place here at a recent period," — A 

 NatumluiVs tl 'nmi?i-i)hjx tti (he A'tstera jirehipctcHjo, p t 63, 



Volcanic Formations— Tin -,• eni^tittite one of the largest auni 

 moat active igiicuns reghms in the world, sweeping in a continuous 

 chain i'nuii nenr the northern i-xl n-ni ily -if Subiuli r;i- lhr.<iigh .luv.t 

 iuid ;iil tint I^e^-l- Suttd:i group, en>t Ward* lo Timor iilul Wet I or, 

 thence curving round to Xtla (130* & long,), and back to linrti, and 

 thence northwards to Tidnr, Termite, and Jihdo. Here the volcanic 

 belt shifts suddeoJy westwards to the northern extremity of Celebes, 

 whriiue i; is continued northward* through ISino, Snngnir, and the 

 Philippines to the north end of Luzon, Yet this chain is itself but 

 n link in a still vaster system, which, through Formosa, Jjipuit, 

 Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, and west c<mi#t id America, en circles 

 the whole of the Pacific, and which limy be Imeed ;tt iutrrt'ah nnmd 

 the Indiun Ocean through riwron T^luiid {Andaman}, Ruinri, find 

 Chcdubu on the Arabian const, the Hiibinnrinc volcano off the 

 CoroumiMU'l s«aboanli Kcnio, Kilimanjaro, und the Komoro Island* 

 in Boat Africa, and neighbouring waters. 



In the Eastern Archipelago many of the bunting niountaitt-n attain 

 considerable altitudes. In the Philippines and North Celebes none appear 

 to rise higher than 0000 or TOO U feet; bnt in Java and Sumatra several 

 havo an elevation of over 10,000, while two even cieeed 12,000 feet. 

 These,, however, arc not the qulminating points of tlic whole Archipelago, 



