296 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
Charles Island. 
With the exception of Hood, this is the most southerly island 
in the group. It is located about thirty-seven miles south of In¬ 
defatigable Island. The island is ten miles long and eight miles 
broad. It reaches an elevation of 1,780 ft. at its highest point. 
Geologically it is probably one of the oldest islands in the group, 
and volcanic activity upon it has evidently long since ceased. 
There are no deposits of even comparatively recent volcanic ma¬ 
terial upon it. 
In approaching the island from the south, one is impressed 
with the number of large craters on it. Fourteen of these were 
counted, seven of which were larger than the rest. The tops of 
the most of the craters are evenly rounded, and it was found out 
later that the southeast sides of many of them were broken down. 
The slope is quite gradual from the shore to the central region, 
on all sides but the east. This side was not visited, but in sail¬ 
ing along the shore, the slope appeared to be rather steep, and 
was covered with xerophytic vegetation among which were a 
large number of Cereus. 
There is a fair amount of soil in most places, composed of vol¬ 
canic ashes and bits of lava. There are exposures of lava, how¬ 
ever, on which there is but little soil, but they are less common 
than on other islands visited. The central part of the island is 
covered with a plateau, several miles square, which has an aver¬ 
age elevation of 1,000 ft. Several large tufa craters are located 
on the plateau^ which usually rise 500-800 ft. above it. Springs 
occur around the base of one of these, and a considerable amount 
of water is afforded by one of them. Such domesticated animals 
as: Cattle, hogs, goats, cats, and dogs have been introduced upon 
the island. The inhabitants from Chatham island often come 
here to dry beef for the use of the laborers on that island. 
Black Beach Road. 
Black Beach Hoad is located on the west side of the island and 
was the port for the settlement which was located on this island 
many years ago. A good trail leads inland from here so the cen¬ 
tral region is more accessible than on the most of the other un¬ 
inhabited islands. 
The shores are low and rocky in the vicinity of Black Beach 
Road, against which the surf breaks heavily at times. On this 
