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Updated: June 24, 2025
In the Pacific, the Loo Choo Islands, in latitude 27 deg N., have reefs on their shores, and there is an atoll in 28 deg 30', situated N.W. of the Sandwich Archipelago. In the Red Sea there are coral-reefs in latitude 30 deg. In the southern hemisphere coral-reefs do not extend so far from the equatorial sea.
Here was a beardless youth, slight in form, silent by habit, but so well thought of by his Government that he was given charge of a ship, five officers, two surgeons and forty-one picked men to go around the world and make measurements of certain coral-reefs, and map the dangerous coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
The comet was again visible, but not nearly so brilliant, being partly obscured by clouds; and dimmed by the light of the new moon. We then rowed across to the island of Motir, which is so surrounded with coral-reefs that it is dangerous to approach. These are perfectly flat, and are only covered at high water, ending in craggy vertical walls of coral in very deep water.
The entire absence of coral-reefs in certain large areas within the tropical seas, is a remarkable fact. Thus no coral-reefs were observed, during the surveying voyages of the "Beagle" and her tender on the west coast of South America south of the equator, or round the Galapagos Islands.
It was a touch-and-go matter to get through, for in every direction there were coral-reefs, which would pretty soon have brought us up if we had run on them; but we had look-outs at the jib-boom-end and the topsail-yard-arms, and as the water was clear, and the weather fine, we escaped all danger.
Among the Reports of the United States Exploring Expedition, two important works from the pen of Professor Dana made their appearance; one on "Zoophytes," which treats at length on "Corals and Coral-Animals," and the other on "Coral-Reefs and Islands."
I have entered at considerable length into this case, although unable to throw much light on it, in order to show that an equal tendency to upward growth ought not to be attributed to all coral-reefs, to those situated at different depths, to those forming the ring of an atoll or those on the knolls within a lagoon, to those in one area and those in another.
But picture to yourself the coral sea reaching away to the north, to the foot of the Welsh mountains; and then fancy yourself, if you will, in a canoe, paddling up through the coral-reefs, north and still north, up the valley down which the Severn now flows, up through what is now Worcestershire, then up through Staffordshire, then through Derbyshire, into Yorkshire, and so on through Durham and Northumberland, till your find yourself stopped by the Ettrick hills in Scotland; while all to the westward of you, where is now the greater part of England, was open sea.
You seem to be sorry that there were no men in the world then. Because it seems a pity that there was no one to see those beautiful coral-reefs and coal-forests. No one to see them, my child? Who told you that? Who told you there are not, and never have been any rational beings in this vast universe, save certain weak, ignorant, short-sighted creatures shaped like you and me?
The remaining portion of the south coast of Cuba appears to be without coral-reefs. The N.E. part of the promontory appears in Captain Owen's charts to be fringed; coloured red. The eastern coast, from 20 deg to 18 deg is fringed.
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