In the centre of a pumice-covered plateau from loon to 2000 ft. In 1886 there was a serious volcanic eruption in the outlying island of Nivafoou, and at the same time Falcon Reef, normally awash at high water, discharged sufficient scoriae and pumice to form a new island 50 ft.
The superior facet, also called the superior articular process, is a pair of facet joints between pairs of vertebrae. A facet joint is what holds two vertebrae together and each vertebra contains two pairs, an upper-facing superior facet pair and a lower-facing inferior facet pair.
In the eleventh thoracic vertebra the body approaches in its form and size to that of the lumbar vertebrae. The articular facets for the heads of the ribs are of large size, and placed chiefly on the pedicles, which are thicker and stronger in this and the next vertebra than in any other part of the thoracic region. The spinous process is short, and nearly horizontal in direction.