Flora of Narcondam and Barren Island. 45 
Throughout the southern half of the island the coast line has been 
eaten by the sea into bare cliffs that vary in height from 50 to 800 
feet. From the appearance these present to any one circumnavigating 
the island it would seem that these, even at the mouths of the gorges, 
and even if landing in spite of the heavy swell that usually surges 
round the island were feasible, must be altogether inaccessible. Much 
of the northern half of the island is similarly sea-worn, but the nor¬ 
thern cliffs are not in many cases very high. The north-west corner of 
the island is a sharply triangular ness, with a high cliff for its nor¬ 
thern, and a sloping hill-side, ending in lower cliffs, for its western 
seaface. This western slope overlooks a bight half a mile wide, but of 
only a furlong’s recession. This bight, open to the north-west, is divided 
into two almost equal bays by a small detached islet, between which and 
the main island stretches a rocky reef. To the south of this islet and 
reef is a somewhat indifferent anchorage, and landing from a boat is 
possible on its small shingle beach, behind which a few coco-nut trees 
grow. This beach is close to the reef and at the mouth of a rather 
narrow gorge which leads fairly directly to the main peak. 
The cliffs that form the east side of this ness overlook a much finer 
bight bounded on the east by the oblong spit already described, more 
than half a mile across, and with a recession almost equalling its width. 
The head of this bight further recedes into a small inviting-looking 
bay which, however, begins to shoal* about a hundred yards from the 
shore, and the strong swell that surges round either cape is broken as it 
crosses the bay into a heavy surf which renders landing neither pleasant 
nor safe.f This bay, which may be termed Coco Bay, is bounded by a 
level stretch of turtle-frequented sand, behind which is the only good 
example of Pandanus sea-fence on the island; behind the sea-fence is 
a fringe of coco-nut trees ; beyond the coco-nut zone, and at the mouth 
of one of the largest gorges in the island, is a small stretch of level 
land, due, no doubt, like the shallowness of the bay, to the deposition of 
detritus from the main hill. In this fiat patch, immediately behind the 
coco-nuts and to the west side of the stream-bed, is a grove of plantains. 
* Ball: Eecords of tke Geol. Survey of India, vi, 89. 
t Hume : Stray Feathers, ii, 109. The landing mentioned by Ball and described 
by Hume is the only one on record at this bay. Probably, however, it is not the only 
one that has been effected. Though the Coco-nuts that line its margin may have been 
introduced by the sea, this cannot be said of a grove of Plantains that occurs. 
Landing did not seem possible at the time of the writer’s visit, nor was it neces¬ 
sary ; the bay, which was visited several times, was reached by cutting a path 
through the jungle from Anchorage Bay. It is of course possible, though hardly 
likely, that the individuals who introduced the Plantains also cut such a path. 
259 
