HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
THE BRITISH COLONIES
Vol. VI AUSTRALASIA
Part II AUSTRALASIAN GEOGRAPHY
CHAPTER I
PACIFIC ISLANDS
The historical portion of this book began with continents, Pacific continued with continental islands, and ended with islets—for Z f 0 ^p^ e the large units had a more continuous and important history, and the lesser units were often without history, or without any other history than that of their big neighbour. The geographical portions of this book will proceed in a reverse order; the wayside flower will be examined before the garden and the garden before the forest, and a description of complex continents and continental islands will be preceded by a description of the simplest islands of the Pacific. No description will be attempted except that which bears upon history directly or indirectly.
The simplest Pacific islands fall into two classes, coral and (i) simple volcanic. Coral islands are usually seas surrounded by land, Sana's or which is again surrounded by sea, and are called atolls, and flat atolls, the atoll is the flat top of an invisible mountain. Thus
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