Lord Howe Island, Part 3”— PARAMONOV 
363 
forms the general mass (see Fig. 3), and the 
stratified beds resting on it (see Fig. 4). Two 
thirds of the island is composed of volcanic 
rocks, comprising three isolated masses. 
Edgeworth (1889: 132) summarized his 
study of rocks as follows: 
1. All the igneous rocks of Lord Howe Island (so 
far as represented by the collection examined) 
belong to the Basalt group. 
2. A vast period of time must have elapsed between 
the eruption of the diabasic basalt and that of 
comparatively recent olivine basalt. 
3. All the basalts, with the exception of the diabasic 
types, are probably not earlier than Tertiary, 
and some may be Post -Tertiary. 
4. The diabasic basalt is probably Pre-Tertiary, or 
may be Paleozoic. 
Immediately overlaying the volcanic rocks, 
and between them and the succeeding coral- 
sand rock series, occurs a bed of stiff unctuous 
red or yellow clay. It does not appear to be 
fossiliferous. 
More interesting is the coral-sand rock se- 
ries; this deposit is often from 30 to 40 ft 
high. The coral-sand rock is the chief fossilifer- 
ous deposit of the island, and has yielded the 
remains of the interesting reptile Meiolania, 
eggs of turtles, bird-bones, and recent species 
of both land and marine shells. 
A systematic boring of this deposit, as well 
as of coral beds in the sea, may give us a de- 
tailed picture of the island’s physical history. 
Unfortunately, geological study is only at a 
preliminary stage, and when it was stated that 
no minerals of economic value existed on the 
island further investigations were stopped. 
The island deserves, however, our special 
attention as a very convenient object where 
the history of Australia, of the surrounding 
areas to the east, and of the Pacific may be 
studied much more easily than at other points. 
The impoverished fauna and flora and the 
simple geological structure may give us all 
Fig. 4. A typical stratified deposit at the eastern seashore east of Old Gulch; the coral-sand strata are 
prominent. (Photo by Miss Z. Liepa.) 
