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TI1E EIU-KIU (LU-CHU) AND GOTO ARCHIPELAGOS. 388
Kang-hi. To the Chinese, Japanese, and native names of places have been added
those of the various Western nations, so that some of the islands have now no less
than five distinct
appellations. Amid all this confusion, the smaller islets and reefs
have in vain been sought for by skippers navigating these waters, and a thorough
survey of the archipelago by the
Japanese navy is now urgently
needed.
The two chief groups run
north-east and south-west, that is
to say, parallel with the other
mountain systems in China and
Japan. The various islands of
these groups consist themselves
of little granite, schist, sandstone,
or limestone ridges, scarcely
exceeding 1,600 feet in height,
and sending down sparkling
torrents, which are used up to
the last drop in the rice grounds
of the lowlands. The chief
member of the northern group
bears the name of Oho-sima, or
" Great Island," although smaller
in extent than Okinava, which
takes the title of "Great Lu-chu,"
in which are concentrated nearly
two-thirds of the population of
the whole ken. It seems to have
no igneous rocks, but the lime-
stone crests of several hills have
frequently been taken for lavas,
owing to their peculiar vesicular
structure.
Thanks to the high tempera-
ture of the surrounding waters,
all the islands are encircled by
coral reefs resembling those of the
Smith Sea Islands, and like them
Fig. 180. TSU-SIMA.
Scale 1 : 240,000.
with openings opposite the river mouths, the polypes being unable to live in fresh
water. Thus have been formed on the Okinava coast the ports of Kafa and
-Melville, the Unting of the natives^ discovered by Basil Hall. In several places the
reel's v\>t- considerably above sea-level, a circumstance doubtless due to upheaval,
and oil' Xal'a the water is so deep that the sounding-line gives no warning to
shipping of the dangerous proximity of these rocks.