In Many Places I Have Observed The
Unaltered Surfaces Of The Elevated Reefs, With Great Masses Of
Coral Standing Up
In their natural position, and hundreds of
shells so fresh-looking that it was hard to believe that they had
Been more than a few years out of the water; and, in fact, it is
very probable that such changes have occurred within a few
centuries.
The united lengths of these volcanic belts is about ninety
degrees, or one-fourth of the entire circumference of the globe.
Their width is about fifty miles; but, for a space of two hundred
miles on each side of them, evidences of subterranean action are
to be found in recently elevated coral-rock, or in barrier coral-
reefs, indicating recent submergence. In the very centre or focus
of the great curve of volcanoes is placed the large island of
Borneo, in which no sign of recent volcanic action has yet been
observed, and where earthquakes, so characteristic of the
surrounding regions, are entirely unknown. The equally large
island of New Guinea occupies another quiescent area, on which no
sign of volcanic action has yet been discovered. With the
exception of the eastern end of its northern peninsula, the large
and curiously-shaped island of Celebes is also entirely free from
volcanoes; and there is some reason to believe that the volcanic
portion has once formed a separate island. The Malay Peninsula is
also non-volcanic.
The first and most obvious division of the Archipelago would
therefore be into quiescent and volcanic regions, and it might,
perhaps, be expected that such a division would correspond to
some differences in the character of the vegetation and the forms
of life.
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