Hill. — Geology of Scinde Island. 448 



venture to say are the lowest of the lower characteristic Napier 

 limestones, in bands of a steel-grey colour and interbedded with 

 yellow and grey calcareous sands and breccia. These beds dip 

 N. by W. at an angle of about 5°. At the junction of Coote 

 Road with Beach Road the rocks forming the bold cliffs along the 

 seaward side of the island are seen to dip to the S.E. at an angle 

 varying from 5° to 10°. Thus, at the point where the prisoners 

 from the gaol carry on their work of stone-breaking, a syncline 

 is observable in the lower beds. Further on, along the beach, 

 the rocks of the lower series dip to the N. by W. at a low angle, 

 in no case exceeding 12°. On the Ahuriri side of the island, at 

 the junction of Hospital and Battery Roads, an anticline is 

 formed by the lower limestones, where they are to be seen dip- 

 ping N.E. and N.W., at varying angles from 10° to 25°. Along 

 the S. and S.S.E. sides of the hills, extending from the recrea- 

 tion-ground to the starting-point on Beach Road, none but the 

 lower limestones are to be seen — overtopped here and there 

 by marls — and these dip to the N.W. at slightly varying angles, 

 but in no case exceeding 15°. At the places known as Battery 

 Point and Pandora Point, on the west side of the hills, the 

 limestones and sands overlying marls are seen dipping W. and 

 S.W. at an angle of 10° ; but near to the large exposure of 

 marls, limestones, and sands belonging to the Railway Depart- 

 ment, and locally-known as Scandinavian Point, the lower 

 limestones are just exposed, and are seen to dip to the N.W., or 

 N. by W., at a low angle, whilst the upper limestones have a 

 similar dip to those exposed at Pandora Point. 



My own opinion is that the general dip of the lower Napier 

 limestones is N.W., at angles varying from 5° to 25°, and that 

 the oldest rocks exposed in the Napier hills are those seen 

 between the Napier public school and the quarry at the junc- 

 tion of Byron Street and the Marine Parade. 



1st. Now, as to unconformability or otherwise of the Napier 

 series. 



Captain Hutton says: "The upper limestones in Scinde 

 Island are unconformable to the lower ;" whilst Mr. McKay 

 says " there is no unconformability between the upper and lower 

 limestones." After a detailed examination of the numerous 

 exposures to be seen on and around the island, I agree with 

 Captain Hutton as to unconformability between the limestones ; 

 but I am prepared to go a little further by stating that there is 

 unconformability between the lower limestones and the marls 

 which rest upon them, except where denudation has taken place, 

 and between the marls and the upper limestones. 



My reasons for holding this opinion are to be found in the 

 following evidence : — 



Along the east side of the island, extending from Beach 

 Road on the south to Lyndon's corner, at the Ahuriri end of 



