10 
C. F. Oldham —Physical Features of the Laccadives. 
[No. 1, 
ing from 5 to 10 fathoms on it, which inside the 100 fathom line extends 
from 15 miles and forms a slight carve, the convex side to the N.-W. 
The southern atoll has the island of Agatti situated on its eastern 
side; a broken coral reef forming a shallow lagoon extends in two arms, 
like claws, from its north and south extremes, leaving a good entrance 
for boats between. The island is four miles long by half a mile broad, 
its greatest breadth, as in Kavaratti, being towards its north end, 
narrowing to a point to the southward ; a narrow shallow channel 
separates the south point from the small island of Kalputhi. On the 
western and southern side of the island a long line of coral-sand rock 
is exposed on the beach, as though the preceding south-west monsoon 
wind had removed the loose sand in the neighbourhood ; also towards 
the south end a line of it is visible in the lagoon thirty feet from the 
shore, while on both sides of the sandy spit forming the south point bro¬ 
ken and dead branches of the bushes lie on the spit. Towards the north 
and north-west, where the island has its greatest breadth, the lagoon 
beach is being added to, and coconut trees are being planted : in fact, 
the whole of the north end is very level, and leads to the idea that it 
has been comparatively recently formed by the deposition of sand from 
the reef and southern part of the island. The eastern side is steep too, 
with a narrow fringe-reef. Kalputhi is situated to the south of Agatti 
and is formed of coral rock and sand ; its northern point extends in a, 
sandy spit towards Agatti. 
The northern atoll extends five miles east and west, and has an 
average width of two-and-a-half miles. The coral-reef enclosing the 
lagoon is somewhat rectangular in shape, and is continuous, except on 
the western side, where there is a broad shallow entrance ; in the centre 
is the island of Bungarra, and two other islands and some islets are 
situated towards the eastern side of the atoll; they are all very low and 
level, and no fresh water is obtainable ; as at Betra, they appear to be 
merely sand-cays covered with vegetation. Bungarra, the centre islet, 
shewed signs of being washed away on its north and west sides, the 
coconuts on these sides having fallen and lay rotting on the beaches. 
The central portion of the lagoon is full of coral heads, with 2 to 4 fa¬ 
thoms of water between, but all round the inside of the reef is a level 
flat, similar to the flat at Betra and Peremul Par ; it has an average width 
of one-third of a mile, except on the south side, where it attains a width 
of about three-quarters of a mile. Flood tide was found to set S. S.-E., 
ebb N. N.-W. 
Off the western side of Bungarra, and extending out towards the 
entrance, are two long sandy arms which curve round towards each 
other and dry ; they are probably formed by the deposition of the sand 
