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304 SIAM.
The eastern shores of the Gulf are bordered by innumerable
groupes of islands, composed, for the most
part, of mountainous masses, and all of them are of
considerable elevation. They are all covered with
vegetation, and have a picturesque aspect ; but it
does not appear that any of them have ever been
occupied. " The want of a constant supply of water
must ever be a principal objection : while their steep
forms and scanty soil forbid every attempt at cultiva-
tion. In many, the summits are rounded : in others,
peaked and rugged. In fact"," continues Mr. Finlayson,
" we here appear to have ascended the tops of a range
of mountains, in structure partaking of the nature of
rocks both of the primitive and the secondary kind.
The direction of this partly submerged range is like
that on the peninsula of Malacca, from north to south,
bending a little from east to west. The breadth of the
range is considerable. The islands form a continuous
narrow belt extending along the coast, in this respect
somewhat similar to those on the east coast of the Bay
of Bengal. There, however, we observe a stupendous
parallel chain of mountains, extending from one extre-
mity of the peninsula to the other ; whilst here, the
most remarkable circumstance is the extreme low-
ness of the continental land. It is an extensive allu-
vion, on a level with the sea, on which we look in
vain for hill or elevation of any sort. At the distance
of a few miles, the trees only, and not the ground, are
visible from the deck, whilst the islands, many of them
rising above 1000 feet, are to be seen many miles off.
The occurrence of granite on this, the first of the
series, was rather unexpected. This granite presents
several varieties. It is less perfectly crystalised, and
more granular, than that we found on the western coast