The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-03-27
OF CORAL ISLES
Address by Professor
AgaSsiz.
Interesting Data as 10 the Top5gra-
ply Of the Bottom Of the
Greatest Ocean,

distinction. rassd through Honolulu
Sunday on the China. The Oriental
mail brings this report OF q lecture de-
uvered iu Yokohama just before ne
sai.ed. on Coral Islands Of the Pacific.
An interesting address was delivered
on Friday afternoon in the Law De-
partmeuL OF the Tokyo University by
. Professor. or as he prefers 90 be- known
Mr.. AgassiZ. naturalist OF the AlbatrOss
| expedition. NisCOunt EuOmOtO pre-
sided, and there was a large attendance
Of the faculty OF the University and Of
students, among the foreigners present
being Professor West Messrs J. Lind
sIey. \. Owston and +. W. Clement.
/ NisCOuut EnOmOtO in a short speech
! welcomed Mr.. Agassiz and introduced
him % the audience.
] Mr.. Agassiz said il was Hrs iuten-
ton 20 give in the short time at his dis
pOsal a succinCt account OF the work
accomplished by the Albatross expedi-
I ton during the last voyage Of the ship.
\ He indicated, in the first place. on
map of the Pacific the route of the
expedition. which. leaving San Fran
cisco about the middle Of August. pro-
ceeded direct 10 the Marquesas. Tahiti
/ Ellice. Gilberts, and Carolines, TO
Guam, whence the ship came on to
/ Yokohama. Explaining why this route
had been taken. he said it would be
seen that on this track there were prac-
tlcally no sOundings at all-this part of
. the Pacific was mare incOgnitum. In
I fact, except for lines that had been
sounded for telegraphic purposes, and
/ for the immense amount OF work done
! by the English in the neighborhood of
/ Fiji, and between Fiji and the Tonga
and Kermadeck groups, the Pacific was
practically unknown. He noted also
the work OF the Challenger in 1S76-77.
and described the course Of that expedi-
/ ton till its arrival at Valparaiso, re-
marking that this line was the only one
affording any conception whatever of
the physical conditions of the Pacific
The track Of the AlbatrOss was de-
stined to afford interesting information
as TO the topography OF the bottom of
the sea. Another point they had in
view was to ascertain as far as possible
the marine fauna at the bottom of the
Pacific In those districts OF the ocean.
The dredgings and the rawlings made
by the Challenger amounted to a con-
siderable number OF hauls, but only
eleven were successful, and, as a mat
ter OF fact, what was known before the
Albatross started OF the bottom of the
Pacific was almost nil. He might ex-
cept what he had the good fortune
to do in 1891, on board the same ship,
in that part of the Pacific between the
Galapagos and the Panama 18TH
mus, which was thoroughly explored,
and large amount of dredging was
done along the coast. But none of the |
hauls then made-though some were in |
deep water-were at such a distance
from land as to afford any idea of the |
deep sea fauna. One of the principal |
reasons which decided him to take the |
route mentioned also was the interest |
he had always felt since 1877 in the |
study of coral reefs. During more than /
fifteen years he had always spent the /
greater part of the winter in some coral |
island district, and he had now visited /
nearly every coral reef district that |
exists, with the exception OF the Indian /
Ocean. and he was able TO satisfy him
self now that the ordinary explanation /
given and accepted so universally of
the theory of the formation of coral 1
reefs was not tenable at the present
day. As to that he would give his
reasons hereafter.
The Albatross began to sound In lat.
% or so, Immediately to the south Of
the line OF telegraph cable soundings
run TO the Sandwich Islands. which had
explored the depth of that part of the
Pacific quite thoroughly. The first
sounding was 2.4O0 fathoms. and they
reached 3,OO0 to $500 fathoms 10 de-
grees south Of the equator. developing
an enormous basin of deep water occu-
pying the whole of the Pacific of the
lsthmus of Panama, and probably. as
a whole, the deepest in this ocean. Ii
was called MOser Basin in honor of the
of the AlbatrOss, in accord
lnce with the custom in case of such
discoveries. Reaching the Marauesas.
the expedition made a number of
5oundings to develop the Topography of
the group, and they found that these
Islands rose from an enormous plateau.
extending all round the group at a
depth OF from 500 TO 900 fathoms. The
same condition was found to char
lceerise the PaumOtus, but the Society
Islands were all Independent volcanic
peaks rising from depths Of 500 TO
1000 fathOms. The Cook Islands were
also Independent peaks. but tho Tiiis
rose from a horseshoe shaped plateau.
in depths Of 200 to 200 fathoms. some Of
The atolls being separated by depths of
l2O 10 200 tathoms. In the case of the
Iongas there was an immense plateau
u Z9O 10 900 miles, with depths among
The Islands of so to IS fathoms. The
.endency was for the plateaux TO in
,rease IN extent as one went westward
rom the Paumotus. but as one went
north. by the Ellice. Gilbert. Marshall
ma caroline groups. the islands were ,
.ound 70 be Isolated peaks or ridges ris-
ng rom considerable depths. sound {
where 400 fathoms were discovareJ nv, ,
ne Eserla some years ago. and I'm this !
lclhlty the Albatross found 4. 400 and !
leVeioped gigantic trough carving :
rom $500 to $500 fathoms. Up TO ms I
i, ne. no one mad succeeded in working !
net at such great depths the Don Z
81 trawl haul hitherto made being in a
r'VV tathoms. but his expedition sue '
eeded In going 100 deeper din the a
ocality mentioned dredging that Is c
o say. in 400 fathems. and to his V
reat surprise they hrougbf -, - - | n