a group of small islands lying in the North Pacific Ocean, between 8° and 9° N. Lat., and 130° and 136° E. Long. They extend from S.S.W. to N.N.E., and are surrounded on all sides except the south by coral reefs. The group comprises in all about twenty islands, the largest of which, Raubelthoup, is nearly 60 miles in circumference. The islands, when seen from the sea, present a rugged and mountainous aspect. They are well covered with trees of various kinds, and the soil is in general rich. The bread-fruit tree, the cocoa-nut, banana, orange, and lemon abound, as also the sugar-cane. There is nothing that deserves the name of river on these islands; and the inhabitants derive their supplies of fresh water from small rivulets and ponds. They belong to the Malay race.