The Island

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ScorpSuperior
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Description of the Palymra Island:

Surrounding the islets and the lagoons is a platform of coral and hard sand. Upon this one can walk from one islet to another, even at high water. At low water parts of the platform are dry. This platform measures 4.3/4 miles east and west by 1.1/2 miles wide. From its eastern end a shoal extends eastward for two miles. From its western end it is shoal for about five miles, the inner mile of which is thickly dotted with coral heads. On this western shoal ships may anchor in 4 to 10 fathoms. The anchorage should be approached from the west, as shallow water extends westward from Sawle Point and Penguin Spit. Landing is difficult because of the many coral heads. At high water it is possible to work a boat along the north side of Penguin Spit, up to Home Islands. At low water it is better to land on the north side of the spit, much of which is dry. All of the northern and southern edge of the platform is marked by a line of breakers.

The climate is wet and humid, as evidenced by the dense vegetation. The rainfall doubtless exceeds 100 inches a year. Yet there are many clear sunny days. A record kept for over a year, 1920-1921, shows 290 clear days as against 114 rainy or cloudy days. Palmyra lies near the zone where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet. It has been suggested that the contact between these bodies of air forced the warmer to rise, become cooled, and drop its moisture in the form of tropical rain.

---janeresture.com