BONIN or ARZOBISPO GROUP.—Peel Island has been examined by Captain Beechey, to whose kindness I am much indebted for giving me information regarding it: “At Port Lloyd there is a great deal of coral; and the inner harbour is entirely formed by coral-reefs, which extend outside the port along the coast.” Captain Beechey, in another part of his letter to me, alludes to the reefs fringing the island in all directions; but at the same time it must be observed that the surf washes the volcanic rocks of the coast in the greater part of its circumference. I do not know whether the other islands of the Archipelago are fringed; I have coloured Peel Island red.—Grampus Island to the eastward, does not appear (Meare’s “Voyage,” page 95) to have any reefs, nor does Rosario Island (from Lutké’s chart), which lies to the westward. Respecting the few other islands in this part of the sea, namely the Sulphur Islands, with an active volcano, and those lying between Bonin and Japan (which are situated near the extreme limit in latitude, at which reefs are formed), I have not been able to find any clear account.
WEST END OF NEW GUINEA.—Port Dory. From the charts in the “Voyage of the ‘Coquille’,” it would appear that the coast in this part is fringed by coral-reefs; M. Lesson, however, remarks that the coral is sickly; coloured red.—Waigiou. A considerable portion of the northern shores of these islands is seen in the charts (on a large scale) in Freycinet’s “Atlas” to be fringed by coral-reefs. Forrest (page 21, “Voyage to New Guinea”) alludes to the coral-reefs lining the heads of Piapis Bay; and Horsburgh (volume ii., page 599, 4th edition), speaking of the islands in Dampier Strait, says “sharp coral-rocks line their shores;” coloured red.—In the sea north of these islands, we have Guedes (or Freewill, or St. David’s), which from the chart given in the 4to edition of Carteret’s “Voyage,” must be an atoll. Krusenstern says the islets are very low; coloured blue.—Carteret’s Shoals, in 2° 53′ N., are described as circular, with stony points showing all round, with deeper water in the middle; coloured blue.—Aiou; the plan of this group, given in the “Atlas of the Voyage of the ‘Astrolabe’,” shows that it is an atoll; and, from a chart in Forrest’s “Voyage,” it appears that there is twelve fathoms within the circular reef; coloured blue.—The S.W. coast of New Guinea appears to be low, muddy, and devoid of reefs. The Arru, Timor laut, and Tenimber groups have lately been examined by Captain Kolff, the MS. translation of which, by Mr. W. Earl, I have been permitted to read, through the kindness of Captain Washington, R.N. These islands are mostly rather low, and are surrounded by distant reefs (the Ki Islands, however, are lofty, and, from Mr. Stanley’s survey, appear without reefs); the sea in some parts is shallow, in others profoundly deep (as near Larrat). From the imperfection of the published charts, I have been unable to decide to which class these reefs belong. From the distance to which they extend from the land, where the sea is very deep, I am strongly inclined to believe they ought to come within the barrier class, and be coloured blue; but I have been forced to leave them uncoloured.—The last-mentioned groups are connected with the east end of Ceram by a chain of small islands, of which the small groups of Ceram-laut, Goram and Keffing are surrounded by very extensive reefs, projecting into deep water, which, as in the last case, I strongly suspect belong to the barrier class; but I have not coloured them. From the south side of Keffing, the reefs project five miles (Windsor Earl’s “Sailing Direct. for the Arafura Sea,” page 9).
CERAM.—In various charts which I have examined, several parts of the coast are represented as fringed by reefs.—Manipa Island, between Ceram and Bourou, in an old MS. chart in the Admiralty, is fringed by a very irregular reef, partly dry at low water, which I do not doubt is of coral-formation; both islands coloured red.—Bourou; parts of this island appear fringed by coral-reefs, namely, the eastern coast, as seen in Freycinet’s chart; and Cajeli Bay, which is said by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 630) to be lined by coral-reefs, that stretch out a little way, and have only a few feet water on them. In several charts, portions of the islands forming the AMBOINA GROUP are fringed by reefs; for instance, Noessa, Harenca, and Ucaster, in Freycinet’s charts. The above-mentioned islands have been coloured red, although the evidence is not very satisfactory.—North of Bourou the parallel line of the Xulla Isles extends: I have not been able to find out anything about them, excepting that Horsburgh (volume ii., page 543) says that the northern shore is surrounded by a reef at the distance of two or three miles; uncoloured.—Mysol Group; the Kanary Islands are said by Forrest (“Voyage,” page 130) to be divided from each other by deep straits, and are lined with coral-rocks; coloured red.—Guebe, lying between Waigiou and Gilolo, is engraved as if fringed; and it is said by Freycinet, that all the soundings under five fathoms were on coral; coloured red.—Gilolo. In a chart published by Dalrymple, the numerous islands on the western, southern (Batchian and the Strait of Patientia), and eastern sides appear fringed by narrow reefs; these reefs, I suppose, are of coral, for it is said in “Malte Brun” (volume xii., page 156), “Sur les cotes (of Batchian) comme dans le plupart des iles de cet archipel, il y a de rocs de medrepores d’une beauté et d’une variété infinies.” Forrest, also (page 50), says Seland, near Batchian, is a little island with reefs of coral; coloured red.—Morty Island (north of Gilolo). Horsburgh (volume ii., page 506) says the northern coast is lined by reefs, projecting one or two miles, and having no soundings close to them; I have left it uncoloured, although, as in some former cases, it ought probably to be pale blue.—Celebes. The western and northern coasts appear in the charts to be bold and without reefs. Near the extreme northern point, however, an islet in the Straits of Limbe, and parts of the adjoining shore, appear to be fringed: the east side of the bay of Manado, has deep water, and is fringed by sand and coral (“‘Astrol.’ Voyage,” Hydrog. Part, pages 453-4); this extreme point, therefore, I have coloured red.—Of the islands leading from this point to Magindanao, I have not been able to find any account, except of Serangani, which appears surrounded by narrow reefs; and Forrest (“Voyage,” page 164) speaks of coral on its shores; I have, therefore, coloured this island red. To the eastward of this chain lie several islands; of which I cannot find any account, except of Karkalang, which is said by Horsburgh (volume ii., page 504) to be lined by a dangerous reef, projecting several miles from the northern shore; not coloured.
ISLANDS NEAR TIMOR.—The account of the following islands is taken from Captain D. Kolff’s “Voyage,” in 1825, translated by Mr. W. Earl, from the Dutch.—Lette has “reefs extending along shore at the distance of half a mile from the land.”—Moa has reefs on the S.W. part.—Lakor has a reef lining its shore; these islands are coloured red.—Still more eastward, Luan has, differently from the last-mentioned islands, an extensive reef; it is steep outside, and within there is a depth of twelve feet; from these facts, it is impossible to decide to which class this island belongs.—Kissa, off the point of Timor, has its “shore fronted by a reef, steep too on the outer side, over which small proahs can go at the time of high water;” coloured red.—Timor; most of the points, and some considerable spaces of the northern shore, are seen in Freycinet’s chart to be fringed by coral-reefs; and mention is made of them in the accompanying “Hydrog. Memoir;” coloured red.—Savu, S.E. of Timor, appears in Flinders’ chart to be fringed; but I have not coloured it, as I do not know that the reefs are of coral.— Sandalwood Island has, according to Horsburgh (volume ii., page 607), a reef on its southern shore, four miles distant from the land; as the neighbouring sea is deep, and generally bold, this probably is a barrier- reef, but I have not ventured to colour it.
N.W. COAST OF AUSTRALIA.—It appears, in Captain King’s Sailing Directions (“Narrative of Survey,” volume ii, pages 325-369), that there are many extensive coral-reefs skirting, often at considerable distances, the N.W. shores, and encompassing the small adjoining islets. Deep water, in no instance, is represented in the charts between these reefs and the land; and, therefore, they probably belong to the fringing class. But as they extend far into the sea, which is generally shallow, even in places where the land seems to be somewhat precipitous; I have not coloured them. Houtman’s Abrolhos (latitude 28° S. on west coast) have lately been surveyed by Captain Wickham (as described in “Naut. Mag.” 1841, page 511): they lie on the edge of a steeply shelving bank, which extends about thirty miles seaward, along the whole line of coast. The two southern reefs, or islands, enclose a lagoon-like space of water, varying in depth from five to fifteen fathoms, and in one spot with twenty-three fathoms. The greater part of the island has been formed on their inland sides, by the accumulation of fragments of coral; the seaward face consisting of nearly bare ledges of rock. Some of the specimens, brought home by Captain Wickham, contained fragments of marine shells, but others did not; and these closely resembled a formation at King George’s Sound, principally due to the action of the wind on calcareous dust, which I shall describe in a forthcoming part. From the extreme irregularity of these reefs with their lagoons, and from their position on a bank, the usual depth of which is only thirty fathoms, I have not ventured to class them with atolls, and hence have left them uncoloured.—Rowley Shoals. These lie some way from the N.W. coast of Australia: according to Captain King (“Narrative of Survey,” volume i., page 60), they are of coral-formation. They rise abruptly from the sea, and Captain King had no bottom with 170 fathoms close to them. Three of them are crescent-shaped; they are mentioned by Mr. Lyell, on the authority of Captain King, with reference to the direction of their open sides. “A third oval reef of the same group is entirely submerged” (“Principles of Geology,” book iii. chapter xviii.); coloured blue.—Scott’s Reefs, lying north of Rowley Shoals, are briefly described by Captain Wickham (“Naut. Mag.” 1841, page 440): they appear to be of great size, of a circular form, and “with smooth water within, forming probably a lagoon of great extent.” There is a break on the western side, where there probably is an entrance: the water is very deep off these reefs; coloured blue.
Proceeding westward along the great volcanic chain of the East Indian Archipelago, Solor Strait is represented in a chart published by Dalrymple from a Dutch MS., as fringed; as are parts of Flores, of Adenara, and of Solor. Horsburgh speaks of coral growing on these shores; and therefore I have no doubt that the reefs are of coral, and accordingly have coloured them red. We hear from Horsburgh (volume ii., page 602) that a coral-flat bounds the shores of Sapy Bay. From the same authority it appears (page 610) that reefs fringe the island of Timor-Young, on the N. shore of Sumbawa; and, likewise (page 600), that Bally town in Lombock, is fronted by a reef, stretching along the shore at a distance of a hundred fathoms, with channels through it for boats; these places, therefore, have been coloured red.—Bally Island. In a Dutch MS. chart on a large scale of Java, which was brought from that island by Dr. Horsfield, who had the kindness to show it me at the India House, its western, northern, and southern shores appear very regularly fringed by a reef (see also Horsburgh, volume ii., page 593); and as coral is found abundantly there, I have not the least doubt that the reef is of coral, and therefore have coloured it red.
JAVA.—My information regarding the reefs of this great island is derived from the chart just mentioned. The greater part of Madura is represented in it as regularly fringed, and likewise portions of the coast of Java immediately south of it. Dr. Horsfield informs me that coral is very abundant near Sourabaya. The islets and parts of the N. coast of Java, west of Point Buang, or Japara, are fringed by reefs, said to be of coral. Lubeck, or Bavian Islands, lying at some distance from the shore of Java, are regularly fringed by coral-reefs. Carimon Java appears equally so, though it is not directly said that the reefs are of coral; there is a depth between thirty and forty fathoms round these islands. Parts of the shores of Sunda Strait, where the water is from forty to eighty fathoms deep, and the islets near Batavia appear in several charts to be fringed. In the Dutch chart the southern shore, in the narrowest part of the island, is in two places fringed by reefs of coral. West of Segorrowodee Bay, and the extreme S.E. and E. portions are likewise fringed by coral-reefs; all the above-mentioned places coloured red.
Macassar Strait; the east coast of Borneo appears, in most parts, free from reefs, and where they occur, as on the east coast of Pamaroong, the sea is very shallow; hence no part is coloured. In Macassar Strait itself, in about latitude 2° S., there are many small islands with coral-shoals projecting far from them. There are also (old charts by Dalrymple) numerous little flats of coral, not rising to the surface of the water, and shelving suddenly from five fathoms to no bottom with fifty fathoms; they do not appear to have a lagoon-like structure. There are similar coral-shoals a little farther south; and in latitude 4° 55′ there are two, which are engraved from modern surveys, in a manner which might represent an annular reef with deep water inside: Captain Moresby, however, who was formerly in this sea, doubts this fact, so that I have left them uncoloured: at the same time I may remark, that these two shoals make a nearer approach to the atoll-like structure than any other within the E. Indian Archipelago. Southward of these shoals there are other low islands and irregular coral-reefs; and in the space of sea, north of the great volcanic chain, from Timor to Java, we have also other islands, such as the Postillions, Kalatoa, Tokan-Bessees, &c., which are chiefly low, and are surrounded by very irregular and distant reefs. From the imperfect charts I have seen, I have not been able to decide whether they belong to the atoll or barrier-classes, or whether they merely fringe submarine banks, and gently sloping land. In the Bay of Bonin, between the two southern arms of Celebes, there are numerous coral- reefs; but none of them seem to have an atoll-like structure. I have, therefore, not coloured any of the islands in this part of the sea; I think it, however, exceedingly probable that some of them ought to be blue. I may add that there is a harbour on the S.E. coast of Bouton which, according to an old chart, is formed by a reef, parallel to the shore, with deep water within; and in the “Voyage of the ‘Coquille’,” some neighbouring islands are represented with reefs a good way distant, but I do not know whether with deep water within. I have not thought the evidence sufficient to permit me to colour them.
SUMATRA.—Commencing with the west coast and outlying islands, Engano Island is represented in the published chart as surrounded by a narrow reef, and Napier, in his “Sailing Directions,” speaks of the reef being of coral (also Horsburgh, volume ii., page 115); coloured red.—Rat Island (3° 51′ S.) is surrounded by reefs of coral, partly dry at low water, (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 96).—Trieste Island (4° 2′ S.). The shore is represented in a chart which I saw at the India House, as fringed in such a manner, that I feel sure the fringe consists of coral; but as the island is so low, that the sea sometimes flows quite over it (Dampier, “Voyage,” volume i., page 474), I have not coloured it.—Pulo Dooa (latitude 3°). In an old chart it is said there are chasms in the reefs round the island, admitting boats to the watering-place, and that the southern islet consists of a mass of sand and coral.—Pulo Pisang; Horsburgh (volume ii., page 86) says that the rocky coral-bank, which stretches about forty yards from the shore, is steep to all round: in a chart, also, which I have seen, the island is represented as regularly fringed.—Pulo Mintao is lined with reefs on its west side (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 107).—Pulo Baniak; the same authority (volume ii., page 105), speaking of a part, says it is faced with coral-rocks.—Minguin (3° 36′ N.). A coral-reef fronts this place, and projects into the sea nearly a quarter of a mile (“Notices of the Indian Arch.” published at Singapore, page 105).—Pulo Brassa (5° 46′ N.). A reef surrounds it at a cable’s length (Horsburgh, volume ii., page 60). I have coloured all the above-specified points red. I may here add, that both Horsburgh and Mr. Moor (in the “Notices” just alluded to) frequently speak of the numerous reefs and banks of coral on the west coast of Sumatra; but these nowhere have the structure of a barrier-reef, and Marsden (“History of Sumatra”) states, that where the coast is flat, the fringing-reefs extend furthest from it. The northern and southern points, and the greater part of the east coast, are low, and faced with mud banks, and therefore without coral.
NICOBAR ISLANDS.—The chart represents the islands of this group as fringed by reefs. With regard to Great Nicobar, Captain Moresby informs me, that it is fringed by reefs of coral, extending between two and three hundred yards from the shore. The Northern Nicobars appear so regularly fringed in the published charts, that I have no doubt the reefs are of coral. This group, therefore, is coloured red.