CHAP. XV 



THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 



311 



Three of the smaller islands are each about the size of 

 Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire, and the whole group 

 stretches from north-west to south-east for a distance of 

 about 350 miles. Though so extensive, the entire archi- 

 pelago is volcanic, and the largest island is rendered 



JW h!i ||53 'n-.-y lioQ |?5 



MAP OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



The light tint shows where the sea is less than 1,000 fathoms deep. 

 The figures show the depth in fathoms. 



sterile and comparatively uninhabitable by its three active 

 volcanoes and their widespread deposits of lava. 



The ocean depths by which these islands are separated 

 from the nearest continents are enormous. North, east, 

 and south, soundings have been obtained a little over or 

 under three thousand fathoms, and these profound deeps 

 extend over a large part of the North Pacific. We may 



