The southern portion of this great coral reef here makes a sharp turn round the islet, and runs back ten miles to connect it with Rossel Island, where it loses the character of a barrier, becomes narrow and fringing and almost disappears for a time.

Passing Cape Deliverance* and getting into smooth water on the northern side of Rossel Island, we ran along it at a distance from the shore of about two miles and a half.
(*Footnote.

As the longitude of Cape Deliverance varies considerably in different charts, its determination by the three best authorities may here be given: D'Entrecasteaux places it in longitude 154 degrees 26 minutes East of Greenwich.
D'Urville places it in longitude 154 degrees 26 minutes East of Greenwich.
Owen Stanley places it in longitude 154 degrees 20 minutes East of Greenwich.) Rossel Island (named after one of D'Entrecasteaux' officers) is 22 miles in length from east to west, and 10 1/2 in greatest width; it is high and mountainous, and thickly wooded, with occasional large, clear, grassy patches.

Towards the western end the hills become lower and more detached, but present the same features.

The mountain ridges, one of which, but not the highest elevation (which was obscured by clouds) is 2,522 feet in height--form sharp narrow crests and occasional peaks, but the outline is smooth and the rock nowhere exposed, even the steepest ridges being covered with vegetation.