Part 1 Chapter 19 Summary

Aronnax says he saw many other shipwrecks as well as hundreds of manmade items at the bottom of the sea as the Nautilus traveled its course. On December 11 they come to the Paumotou Islands, which may someday help to form a fifth continent. Aronnax is fascinated by the coral formations and there is a long dissertation about them and madrepores, which are often confused with corals. The Nautilus moves through the Tropic of Cancer and toward Tahiti by December 15. Later that week no one celebrates Christmas, which bothers Ned Land.

On the 27th Captain Nemo meets with Aronnax and tells him they are near the Island of Vanikoro. This is where, In 1785, La Perouse was lost, with the ships Boussole and Astrolabe. It is a large volcanic island. The French government sent two ships, the Recherche and Esperance, to find them...