CHAP, x^.] 



THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



209 



extensive, the entire archipelago is volcanic, and the largest island 

 is rendered 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 ha,ve been obtained a little over or under three thousand 

 fathoms, and these profound deeps extend over a large part of 



MAP OF THE SANDAVICH ISLANDS. ^ ' 



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

 The figL.res shov/ the depth in fathoms. 



the North Pacific. We may be quite sure, therefore, that the 

 Sandwich Islands have, during their whole existence, been as 

 completely severed from the great continents as they are now ; 

 but on the west and south there is a possibility of more exten- 

 sive islands having existed, serving as stepping-stones to the 

 island groups of the Mid-Pacific. This is indicated by a few 

 widely-scattered coral islets, around which extend considerable 



