A VANISHED ISLAND.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1520, 19 February 1886, Page 4

A VANISHED ISLAND.

An official notification from the Danish Ministry of Marine announces that Denmark is poorer by tbe loss of an island and of an interesting natural object. South of the island one of the Faroe group, a mighty cliff rcse sheer out of the sea to a height of from Soft, so 100 ft. Looked at sidewise from a distance at •ee, it resembled a ereat ship in full sail; but seen from Suderoe, it presented the appearance of a monk, whence it received from the Faroese the name of Munken. The monk wasjnot merely a picturesque object; it was also a valuable landmark for sailors, warning them against a dangerous whirlpool which swept around its base. But it is now only a thing of the past. Last year a portion of the cliff fell down, and this year all that remained was broken off just below the water-line, leaving in its place a dangerous reef, which is covered even at low water. Fortunately it was uninhabited, so no livet were lost. The occurrence is noteworthy as profitg that the continuous wash of the sea, aided probably in the winter by the action of driving ice blocks, is able to saw through immense masses of rock consisting of havd basalt, cutting them clean acroct it the water's edge.