40 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

 

 

(6.) The Islands west of the Dominion of Can-
ada and Alaska. These are clearly the summits
of submerged northern prolongations of the Pa-
cific coast ranges.

(7.) The Islands of the Patagonian Archi-
pelago are the summits of submerged prolonga-
tions.of the Andes of Chili.

92. Asiatic Continental Island Chains consist
of a series of curved ranges extending along the
entire coast, and intersecting each other nearly at
right angles.

(1.) The Kurile Islands are a prolongation of ,
the Kamtchatkan range.

(2.) The Islands of Japan extend in a curve
from Saghalien to Corea.

(3.) The Loo Choo Islands extend in a curve
from the islands of Japan to the island of For-
mosa.

(4.) The Philippines form two diverging chains,
which merge on the south into the Australasian
Island chain. The eastern chain extends to the
southern extremity of Celebes, and the western
to that of Borneo.

The Asiatic chains belong to a submerged mountain-
range extending from Kamtchatka to the Sunda Islands.
Their general direction is parallel to the elevations of the
coast.

93. The Australasian Island Chain.

The Australasian Island chain is composed of
a number of islands extending along curved
trends over a length of nearly 6000 miles, from
Sumatra to New Zealand. The islands extend
along three curved lines, whose general direction
‘is north-west.

 

 

AUSTRALIA

 

 

Fig. 34, Australasian Island Chain,
1, Sumatra; 2, Java; 3, Sumbawa; 4, Flores; 5, Timor; 6, Borneo;
7, Celebes; 8, Gilolo; 9, Ceram; 10, Papua; 11, Louisiade Archipel-
ago; 12, New Caledonia; 13, New Zealand; 14, Admiralty Islands ;
15, Solomon’s Archipelago; 16, Santa Cruz; 17, New Hebrides. 4

 

  
   

The Australasian chain was probably connected with the
Asiatic continent during recent geological time, and sepa-
rated from it by subsidence. Its numerous volcanoes and
coral formations prove that subsidence is still taking
place. ,

94. Peculiarity of Distribution—The follow-
ing peculiarity is noticed in the distribution of —
continental islands:

Each of the continents has an island, or a group

of islands, near its south-eastern extremity. For
example, North America has the Bahamas and
the West Indies; Greenland has Iceland; South
America has the Falkland Islands; Africa has
Madagascar; Asia has the East Indies; and
Australia has Tasmania.
95. Oceanic Islands are those situated far away
from the continents. They occur either in vast
chains, which generally extend along one or the
other of the two lines of trend, or as isolated
groups.

Oceanic Island Chains.

The following are the most important:

(1.) The Polynesian Chain ;

(2.) The Chain of the Sandwich Islands;

(8.) The Tongan or New Zealand Chain.

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 35. Polynesian Island Chain.
1, Marquesas; 2, Paumotu; 3, Tahitian; 4, Rurutu group; 5, Her-
vey group; 6, Samoan, or Navigator’s; 7, Vakaafo group; 8, Vaitupu;
9, Kingsmill; 10, Ralick; 11, Radack ; 12, Carolines; 13, Sandwich.

The Polynesian Chain consists of a series of
parallel chains, extending from the Paumotu and
the Tahitian Islands to the Carolines, the Ralick,
and the Radack groups. Their general direction
is north-west; the total length of the chain is
about 5500 miles.

The Chain of the Sandwich Islands extends in
a north-westerly direction. Its length is about
2000 miles.

The New Zealand Chain extends north-east as -