608 Transactions. — Miscelkmeous. 



depth, as boulders rolled into them could be heard rebounding, 

 as it seemed, from rock to rock for some seconds. These 

 curious craters are of recent origin, and were first called Paia 

 Hou, or New Puia, when they broke out during the last erup- 

 tion of Ngauruhoe, in 1868-69. They were subsequently named 

 Te Mari, after the sister of Matuahu, chief of Otukau, situated 

 a few miles to the north-west of the mountain, and whose 

 death was supposed to have been hastened by the dreadful 

 sounds that preceded, and the falling of stones, dust, sand, &c., 

 that succeeded, the breaking-out of the New Puia. 



At the time of the Tarawera eruption these craters sent 

 out dense clouds of black smoke, but no eruption took place, 

 although rumblings were heard for days before, both at Papa- 

 roa and Poutu, situated near Lake Eotoaira. The craters 

 forming Te Mari appear to me as being quite different in their 

 mode of formation from the ordinary volcanic craters to be 

 seen in other parts of the district. They certainly were not 

 built up as ordinary cone-craters, such as are formed by the 

 welling of lava from a vent, after the manner of an artesian 

 flow, the plastic mass forming a cone round the vent ; but they 

 appear to have been formed by a gyrating process from below, 

 and as soon as the gyrating force became sufficient to over- 

 come the pressure of the overlying mass it gave way, and 

 craters of irregular shape were formed. It appears to me that 

 this gyrating force might even be approximately measured by 

 simply estimating the mass of rock removed from the crater 

 at the time of its formation. It may also be worthy of inquiry 

 whether the opening of shafts of immense depth is the fore- 

 runner of volcanic action, or is simply a phase of decay similar 

 to fumaroles and solfataras. The subject is one of much 

 interest, and demands further consideration. 



It will not be necessary for me to refer to the remaining part 

 of Tongariro, as it has already been fully described by Pro- 

 fessor Thomas in the volume of the Transactions to which 

 reference has been made above. I would simply mention 

 the fact that the Eed Crater, which does not appear to have 

 shown signs of activity at the date of the professor's visit, was 

 steaming furiously in March, 1887, and in the same month in 

 185JO ; and I was told by Mr. Maunsell, a gentleman intimately 

 acquainted with the mountain, that it was much more active 

 a few years ago. No one visiting the district should miss the 

 opportunity of seeing the craters known as the North Crater, 

 South Crater, and Eed Crater, in addition to Ketetahi and Te 

 Mari, already described. 



2. Ngaukuhoe. 



This, the most active of all the volcanoes of New Zealand, 

 has a perfect cone-like shape, and is joined to the Tongariro 



