280 Transactions. — Geology. 



been due in part to the intervening ranges of mountains, but 

 it prevents us locating the epiceutruni very far west of Glynn 

 Wye. 



If we assume that the meizoseimic band extended three 

 miles on either side of Glynn Wye, and that the angle of 

 emergence was 55° on the western edge of this belt and 45° on 

 the eastern edge, it would indicate that the epicentrum was 

 about seventeen miles from Glynn Wye, and about twenty 

 miles below the surface. 



Mr. A. McKay, in his report, says that he is of opinion 

 that the shock "commenced at some point to the west of 

 Glynn Wye, perhaps further west than the junction of the 

 Kiwi with the Hojae, and that it travelled eastward with 

 increasing force to Glynn Wye and Hopelield, beyond which 

 places, by what appears at the surface, its destructive character 

 began to be less." The junction of the Hope and the Kiwi is 

 fourteen miles west of Glynn Wye. 



Direction of the Shock at Different Places. — Eeports under 

 this head vary extremely, even from the same place, and in 

 the absence of seismographs no accurate results can be 

 expected. It is known from observation that the normal 

 wave is followed by a transverse wave, and that afterwards 

 the ground oscillates irregularly ; so that, even if the direction 

 be estimated right, it would be impossible to distinguish the 

 normal from the transverse w^ave. Even accurate observations 

 may often give a wrong direction. For example : The move- 

 ment of cream in a paii at Eangiora gave S.W. and N.E. as 

 the direction. At Ohoka the same kind of seismometer regis- 

 tered the shock as E.S.E. and W.N.W. At Ashburton a lamp 

 was seen to swing east and west. In Christchurch water was 

 thrown out of buckets in different directions in the same build- 

 ing, although in the majority of cases it was to the N.W. In 

 fact things in general seem to have been thrown away from a 

 wall without much reference to the shock. In the Canterbury 

 Museum some unsupported table-legs in the Indian case fell 

 to the east ; but I found that the shelf on which they stood 

 had a slight slope in this direction. All these and many 

 others must be rejected as pointing far out of the direction of 

 the normal wave; and, indeed, ,but little weight can be 

 attached to this kind of evidence at all : but, as it is quite 

 independent of all other evidence, it may be worth while to 

 find out what results it leads to. 



At Wellington the seismograph is reported in the news- 

 papers as registering the shock N.E. and S.W. ; at Christ- 

 church the cathedral-spire is octagonal, and the cross fell over 

 to the side facing N.W. This no doubt shows roughly the 

 true direction of the shock, but it might have come fi'om any 

 point between W.N.W. and N.N.W. I will take it at N.W. 



