Coral Reefs [96]
as formed by bold-peaked land, with the islands surrounded by coral-reefs, extending about half a mile from the shore; at a distance of a mile from the reefs he found only seven fathoms. As I have no reason for supposing there is deep water within these reefs, I have coloured them red. KENNEDY Island, N.E. of Duff's. I have been unable to find any account of it.
NEW CALEDONIA.
The great barrier-reefs on the shores of this island have already been described (Figure 5, Plate II.). They have been visited by Labillardiere, Cook, and the northern point by D'Urville; this latter part so closely resembles an atoll that I have coloured it dark blue. The LOYALTY group is situated eastward of this island; from the chart and description given in the "Voyage of the 'Astrolabe'," they do not appear to have any reefs; north of this group, there are some extensive low reefs (called ASTROLABE and BEAUPRE,) which do not seem to be atoll-formed; these are left uncoloured.
AUSTRALIAN BARRIER-REEF.
The limits of this great reef, which has already been described, have been coloured from the charts of Flinders and King. In the northern parts, an atoll-formed reef, lying outside the barrier, has been described by Bligh, and is coloured dark blue. In the space between Australia and New Caledonia, called by Flinders the Corallian Sea, there are numerous reefs. Of these, some are represented in Krusenstern's "Atlas" as having an atoll-like structure; namely, BAMPTON shoal, FREDERIC, VINE or Horse-shoe, and ALERT reefs; these have been coloured dark blue.
LOUISIADE.
The dangerous reefs which front and surround the western, southern, and northern coasts of this so-called peninsula and archipelago, seem evidently to belong to the barrier class. The land is lofty, with a low fringe on the coast; the reefs are distant, and the sea outside them profoundly deep. Nearly all that is known of this group is derived from the labours of D'Entrecasteaux and Bougainville: the latter has represented one continuous reef ninety miles long, parallel to the shore, and in places as much as ten miles from it; coloured pale blue. A little distance northward we have the LAUGHLAN Islands, the reefs round which are engraved in the "Atlas of the Voyage of the 'Astrolabe'," in the same manner as in the encircled islands of the Caroline Archipelago, the reef is, in parts, a mile and a half from the shore, to which it does not appear to be attached; coloured blue. At some little distance from the extremity of the Louisiade lies the WELLS reef, described in G. Hamilton's "Voyage in H.M.S. 'Pandora'" (page 100): it is said, "We found we had got embayed in a double reef, which will soon be an island." As this statement is only intelligible on the supposition of the reef being crescent or horse-shoe formed, like so many other submerged annular reefs, I have ventured to colour it blue.
SOLOMON ARCHIPELAGO.
The chart in Krusenstern's "Atlas" shows that these islands are not encircled, and as coral appears from the works of Surville, Bougainville, and Labillardiere, to grow on their shores, this circumstance, as in the case of the New Hebrides, is a presumption that they are fringed. I cannot find out anything from D'Entrecasteaux's "Voyage," regarding the southern islands of the group, so have left them uncoloured.--MALAYTA Island in a rough MS. chart in the Admiralty has its northern shore fringed.--YSABEL Island, the N.E. part of this island, in the same chart, is also fringed: Mendana, speaking (Burney, volume i., page 280) of an islet adjoining the northern coast, says it is surrounded by reefs; the shores, also of Port Praslin appear regularly fringed.--CHOISEUL Island. In Bougainville's "Chart of Choiseul Bay," parts of the shores are fringed by coral-reefs.-- BOUGAINVILLE Island. According to D'Entrecasteaux the western shore abounds with coral-reefs, and the smaller islands are said to be attached to the larger ones by reefs; all the before-mentioned islands have been coloured red.--BOUKA Islands. Captain Duperrey has kindly informed me
NEW CALEDONIA.
The great barrier-reefs on the shores of this island have already been described (Figure 5, Plate II.). They have been visited by Labillardiere, Cook, and the northern point by D'Urville; this latter part so closely resembles an atoll that I have coloured it dark blue. The LOYALTY group is situated eastward of this island; from the chart and description given in the "Voyage of the 'Astrolabe'," they do not appear to have any reefs; north of this group, there are some extensive low reefs (called ASTROLABE and BEAUPRE,) which do not seem to be atoll-formed; these are left uncoloured.
AUSTRALIAN BARRIER-REEF.
The limits of this great reef, which has already been described, have been coloured from the charts of Flinders and King. In the northern parts, an atoll-formed reef, lying outside the barrier, has been described by Bligh, and is coloured dark blue. In the space between Australia and New Caledonia, called by Flinders the Corallian Sea, there are numerous reefs. Of these, some are represented in Krusenstern's "Atlas" as having an atoll-like structure; namely, BAMPTON shoal, FREDERIC, VINE or Horse-shoe, and ALERT reefs; these have been coloured dark blue.
LOUISIADE.
The dangerous reefs which front and surround the western, southern, and northern coasts of this so-called peninsula and archipelago, seem evidently to belong to the barrier class. The land is lofty, with a low fringe on the coast; the reefs are distant, and the sea outside them profoundly deep. Nearly all that is known of this group is derived from the labours of D'Entrecasteaux and Bougainville: the latter has represented one continuous reef ninety miles long, parallel to the shore, and in places as much as ten miles from it; coloured pale blue. A little distance northward we have the LAUGHLAN Islands, the reefs round which are engraved in the "Atlas of the Voyage of the 'Astrolabe'," in the same manner as in the encircled islands of the Caroline Archipelago, the reef is, in parts, a mile and a half from the shore, to which it does not appear to be attached; coloured blue. At some little distance from the extremity of the Louisiade lies the WELLS reef, described in G. Hamilton's "Voyage in H.M.S. 'Pandora'" (page 100): it is said, "We found we had got embayed in a double reef, which will soon be an island." As this statement is only intelligible on the supposition of the reef being crescent or horse-shoe formed, like so many other submerged annular reefs, I have ventured to colour it blue.
SOLOMON ARCHIPELAGO.
The chart in Krusenstern's "Atlas" shows that these islands are not encircled, and as coral appears from the works of Surville, Bougainville, and Labillardiere, to grow on their shores, this circumstance, as in the case of the New Hebrides, is a presumption that they are fringed. I cannot find out anything from D'Entrecasteaux's "Voyage," regarding the southern islands of the group, so have left them uncoloured.--MALAYTA Island in a rough MS. chart in the Admiralty has its northern shore fringed.--YSABEL Island, the N.E. part of this island, in the same chart, is also fringed: Mendana, speaking (Burney, volume i., page 280) of an islet adjoining the northern coast, says it is surrounded by reefs; the shores, also of Port Praslin appear regularly fringed.--CHOISEUL Island. In Bougainville's "Chart of Choiseul Bay," parts of the shores are fringed by coral-reefs.-- BOUGAINVILLE Island. According to D'Entrecasteaux the western shore abounds with coral-reefs, and the smaller islands are said to be attached to the larger ones by reefs; all the before-mentioned islands have been coloured red.--BOUKA Islands. Captain Duperrey has kindly informed me