{"product_id":"chagos-archipelago-new-caledonia-maldives-coral-reefs-charles-darwin-1895-map-p-6-112336","title":"Chagos Archipelago, New Caledonia \u0026 Maldives—Coral Reefs—Charles Darwin 1895 map","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eGreat Chagos Bank; Menchicoff Atoll [Kwajalein Atoll]; Mahlos Mahdoo Atoll [Maalhosmadulu Atolls]; Horsburgh Atoll [Goidhoo Atoll]; New Caledonia; Maldiva Archipelago [Maldives]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eCharles Darwin’s comparative plate brings together the Great Chagos Bank and a section across it; Menchicoff Atoll (Kwajalein); Mahlos Mahdoo (Maalhosmadulu) with Horsburgh Atoll (Goidhoo); New Caledonia; and the Maldiva Archipelago. Compiled principally from hydrographic surveys by Captain Robert Moresby and Lieutenant F. T. Powell, with material from Krusenstern’s atlas and Captain Hagemeister, it records soundings, submerged banks and sharply contrasting reef forms. These were evidence, not simply geographical illustrations. Darwin supplied the first comprehensive, testable explanation of how coral islands developed: reef-building corals remain near the sunlit surface while their volcanic foundations slowly subside, so fringing reefs become separated from the land as barrier reefs and ultimately survive as ring-shaped atolls after the central island disappears. First published in 1842 in The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs—one of the foundational works of modern reef geology—this is a later 1895 printing, engraved by J. \u0026amp; C. Walker.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53896241611099,"sku":"P-6-112336","price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112336a.jpg?v=1787833517","url":"https:\/\/www.antiquemapsandprints.com\/products\/chagos-archipelago-new-caledonia-maldives-coral-reefs-charles-darwin-1895-map-p-6-112336","provider":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}