53

20

(Sulivans. outside deep soundings)

85 or 55) (doubtful from boat drifting,) coarse calc sand, fragments of dead coral. 203/10 square

bit of dead Gorgonia, living Corallina:

275) Impression of large Bivalve, little calc: sand

320). little calc sand

363). little calc sand

[4]30 coarse calc sand, bits of dead shells & Corallina 3/4 inch square, stony branched coral like those of T. del. Fuego —

Capt. FitzRoy. near to [Breakers]

1) 8F Beautifully marked with Astrea. quite clean; axis smooth probably alive

14) sparing calc sand, arming broken

[?]7) arming quite clean, irregularly marked

30 & 28) abundant calc sand

15, very little calc sand. arming much broken

53 verso

(30) calc sand abundant

(21) calc sand — do — arming broken

(16) calc sand, tolerably abundant, mark of something hard

(14) little calc sand; arming broken

(35) much calc sand, 4

M^r Sulivan thinks the latter time, depth 5-600 fathoms

Mem. the lines cut at great depth
؟ what depths. —

M^r Stuart¹ came away his anchor in 13 F fathoms. & lead in 16. F: The Capt when sounding in 10 & 12 fathoms. frequently had the lead jammed, so as not to be without much difficulty to extricate it. — How the rough the bottom must be. —

At Anchorage most impalpable sand or mud

generally sand in the hollows. excepting Capt FitzRoy soundings & his in the deeper water chiefly only the filiaceous madrepore. —

¹ Peter Benson Stewart, mate on the Beagle. Darwin also spelled his name as Stuart in the Beagle diary.

54a

21

Monday

1 —	270 —	0.6 fraction of a mile:
2	70 —	0.3 = 0 4
3	190 —	0.6
4	190	0.3
5	26	0.2
No	fathoms	estimated distance

(1) Minute bits generally about 1/50 1/100 of inch (excepting one thin fragment of 1/20^th) partly rounded of either shells or coral; a trace fragment of one. cell of a Flustra, which looked fresh, & [illeg] other colored red. —

(2) a bit of living sponge, arming marks, with rounded pebbles. & ∠^r fragments, nearly 1/2 inch in size.

54a verso

(3) rates thin with serpulae. dead, white 1/2 inch in size of dead inarticulate corallina; sandy particles. — joint of white Halimeda: minute fragments of stony Cellariae 2 0r 3/10 long dead (like those of T del Fuego) & encrusting Flustrae, — a small shell allied to Terebratula = dead =

(4) very fine calcareous sand & as before fragments. all owing to shells & corals.

minute bits (1/50^th of inch) of stony Flustraceae, all dead, (excepting one very minute kind, a stony cellaria of a scarlet color)

(5) As above, joint of Halimeda &c &c &c, coarser, — perhaps marks of pebbles .3 long: —

bits one or two or three tenths of inch. —

one piece, very old & dead. 1 1/2 x 2 x 3 1/2, tenth of inch of a lamelliform coral. — with this exception I

54b

22

saw no trace of that order nor of any living thing excepting the minute, scarlet stony cellariae

Tuesday morning —

numerous bits of dead, stony milleporae. minute 1 to 2 long, corallinae, serpulae, & a scaly piece of Caryophillia (?) 3 square all white, brittle bleached 146 fathoms

237 fathom, armory almost clean, marked as fine sand with two or three particles of do

184 do — with minute bits of same substance as before

54b verso

(31) coarser, than any I have seen all dead, excepting perhaps a scarlet corallina — fragments scaly. some of them 1/2 inch square, 3/4^th of them. corallina; one of them a bit of oyster shell, spine of Echi[nus]

The Corallina partially retained their red color, the rest much bleached. —

N.B. I feel little doubt abo[ut] the impression of pebbles noticed yesterday

Friday 7^.th

38 marked with round pebbles; frag[ment] 2-3/10 square of dead coral. with bits living corallina attached to it

92 long piece of lately dead Gorgonia, fragments [of] dead coral & corallina (latter some living) 1/2 inch square

55a

23

Friday

12) a little calc coarse sand, bits of dead corallina, & fragments one inch long. of very fresh living (or exceedingly fresh. millepora (of the branching species)

(17) calc. S. coarse: bits of dead coral

(18) one or two specks of calc. sand: the impression of some large coral

(20) well rounded piece & bleached [4] inch long 1 1/2 broad, of the plate millepora, much calc. sand:

(14) coarse calc sand, dead joints of Halimeda. in quantity bits of conch.

(19) coarsest fragments I have yet seen dead, old, well rounded, encrusted with living corallina Flustrae & a sigillina & seaweed 1 & 1/2 inch in diameter; others 1 inch

55a verso

branched stony millepora. — The 2^d kind (& possibly Astrea); calc sand.

(14) calc sand small dead univalve, dead Halimeda joints; in tolerable quantity

(34) coarse calc sand, minute dead fragments of shells

(14) a very little calc sand, perhaps the lead struck on something solid

(10) armory came up perfectly clean. I could not trace any impressions

(11) armory, fresh broken pieces of a very fresh (of line) millepora, color very pale brown: (mem color of the branched kinds?) It is this color

55b

24

(28) sparing calc sand

(12) armory almost clean, a mark one or two grains —

NB. Very many of the fragments appear of family of Corallinas — the rarity of shells, remarkable, in any but extreme comminuted state. the fineness of fragments even in shoal water: the probable entire absence of Astrea, because not easily broken. —

indeed all large fragments must be thrown up & small carried by recoil of the sea. —

or may conclude that generally deeper than 12 fathom all dead coral sand; a fathom or two of fragments. —

55b verso

Soundings in the Lagoon

The branched stony kinds grow in 3 fathoms. — & in seven a purplish brown thin pale kind seems common.

allied to Polypus to Madreporae. V. Nota B.

Saturday

770) Fathoms little calc sand, with a body cellular body encrusted with dead serpulae. depth doubtful, 369 really

(240) coarse sand, chiefly joints of Halimeda, bits of [matted] old coral. one 3/4 x 1/2 inch & a vase of a pteripodous animal

56a

25

to 12. fathoms armory clean: millepora; astrea

(above 20 — no sign of any thing hard. —)

(42 soundings. —)

even at great depth 1/2 inch square

few, but some dead fragments of shells, comminuted, non living. —; variously bleached Halimeda. & millepora living 92

few bits of various minute corals; flustra, Gorgonia, the bit of a lamelliform. — a scarlet cellaria alive 190

a case of pteripodous animal

sponge alive 70: Echinus

Sigillina, Flustra, Millipora, sea-weed 39

some doubt about living on account of drift. —

(4: inch diameter)

 

NB. action of sea. cause of slope: cliffs 360 500-600 cut

56a verso

inclination of Teyde 12°. 29'. Vesuvius 12° 41'. Etna 10° 13' — Cones of volcano have a medium slope from 39° to 40° — Humboldt

Even the steepest parts but. little exceeding. these numbers

N.B. Beechey near slope. from the 20 fathom line appear nearly 45. — but much less as our towards the end. —

[calculation] 4/10 [x] 1/4 = 4/40

[calculation] 8/20 [x] 1/4 = 8/80 [=] 1/10

Prejudice of unfathomable wall. —

18. soundings with bottom, above 30. several between 200 & 300 fathoms.

1. 2

[calculation] 12.00 [x] 6 [=] 72.00

56b

26

section on the last side between the settlement & old house

[sketch] 15 yards 50 yards

near the last

[sketch] 5 yds 20 yds 50 yds

at this points the rocks at the foot of the beach (munia) was more rugged with lowe blocks on the top from one to 2 feet square. the beach covered with blocks of the same size, the reef also very rugged. —

NB. In this latter part the Breccia in one section extended to near the breakers. about 50 y^d wide

There is no law about the extension of discoloured water. it is at least not less on the leeward. than windward side & the broardest part occurred there

no average width can be given in one spot nearly 200 y^ds —

On eastern side whole reef (from breakers to beach) had average width of rather more than 100 y^d: whilst on west side nearly 300 y^d. — Breccia commonly not more than 10. or fewer hands. with some exceptions. —

M^r Sullivan seems to consider that very commonly the breccia has been torn up & cast on the beach. in loose fragments

If the lower part of a beach was consolidated & the land sunk a trifle, the appearances here presented all round the Island could probably be presented. —

56bv [blank]