46 The American Geologist. .ran. iseo. 
TrochisGus norrissii on the kelp, seem to cateh and intensify 
the colors of their surroundings. Almost directly under us 
lies the small islet shown in sketch No. 1. 
Following the trail a short distance farther we round the 
point where the north side of the eastern island comes into 
view, presenting with the eastern portion of the middle 
island an entire change of color and outline. The shore line 
is of all shades of brown and green. The black basaltic base, 
with its overlying masses of trachytic rock of various colors, 
is Aveathered out into innumerable cavities and miniature 
caves. The outlying islets are viewed at an altitude of per- 
haps 200 feet above the ocean, which lies almost directly 
under our feet. The barking sea-lions and seals impress us 
with the idea of distant voices of human beings. The scene 
has a beauty and grandeur impossible to describe or imagine, 
and well worth the trouble it costs to reach the locality. 
Retracing our steps we regain the higher ground and reach 
a point on the top of the greenish gray sedimentary deposit 
shown in sketch No. 2 at A. From this point we see the entire 
length of the eastern island, and the sinuosities of its south- 
ern side ; the whole length of the southern exposure shows 
perpendicular cliffs from the shore to the top of the 
island some three or four hundred feet high, with the 
eastern end of middle island and the gray deposit before 
mentioned in the foreground, and over which at a low point 
marked "B" in sketch No. 2, we see the shore line of the east- 
ern island, the peculiar form of which resembles the rim of an 
immense crater, a greater portion of whosfe circumference has 
been destroyed by the ocean which is continually battering at 
both sides of the remainder, which must, at a time not far 
distant, succumb to the forces of nature which are rapidly 
disintegrating the remains of what once formed a large extent 
of country. 
The Caves. 
Many of the caves on these islands are interesting, one of 
them which we called Freshwater or Indian cave, shows 
evidence of having been inhabited by the aborigines for a 
long period. At the mouth of this cave is a spring of good 
water seeping from the rocks into basin-shaped cavities which 
are evidently artificial. One of these fills up at the rate of 
70 gallons every 24 hours. Among the refuse matter deposited 
