Pond mid Smith. — f^i the Eruption of Mt. Tarawera. 357 



into the crater, though large masses were flung with a ter- 

 rible clatter on to the sides, gradually building them to a 

 greater height. Some of the stones launched out fell several 

 hundred yards from the edge, burying themselves in the mud, 

 and sending up volumes of steam. It was now possible to 

 witness the manner in which the stones were buried, both in 

 the mud and in the dry deposit, and to note how greatly reduced 

 was the activity of the geyser action to what its earlier efforts 

 had been. 



While traversing the ground between the edge of the deposit 

 and the craters, a large number of circular depressions had 

 been observed, of various sizes, and having the appearance of 

 fumaroles. Some of these were not less than half a mile from 

 the edge of the nearest crater, while as the distance was reduced 

 the number of these holes increased. Finding a place where 

 water and mud had been ejected in sufficient quantity to form 

 a moderate hardness on the surface of the dry deposit, a search 

 was made at the bottom of some of the holes, resultmg, after a 

 little excavation, in each case in finding a large stone. Some- 

 times these had only just penetrated the hard wet crust, and at 

 others had disappeared in the dry deposit which lay below. In 

 one small valley, where an immense deposit of stones had taken 

 place, a rhomboid had been thrown which measured about 

 4 ft. by 2 ft. 6 in.* This had a raised mass of material round it, 

 showing that it had been thrown, and had not rolled to its 

 situation. During the whole of the time spent on the sides of 

 this crater, a constant tremor of the earth was noticeable, and a 

 heavier discharge than usual of mud and stones was invariably 

 accompanied by a shock, which gave timely warning before the 

 effects were seen above the edge of the crater. 



Skirting this active geyser, and ascending the hill called 

 Hape-o-toroa, the former Kotomahana Lake lies before us, 

 sending up a great volume of steam. 



This hill, Te Hape-o-toroa, is situated immediately to the 

 south of the Rotomahana crater, and, being the highest land 

 anywhere in the neighbourhood, commands a fine view of all 

 the points of eruption excepting Tarawera and Euawahia, the 

 flanks of which are occasionally visible through the vast mass 

 of vapour ascendmg into the upper regions of the air. Its close 

 proximity to the southern edge of the crater — being distant from 

 it only 250 yards — enables the beholder to look down on to the 

 various points of eruption with great advantage, though it must 

 be acknowledged that the constant shocks of earthquake induce 

 a wondering expectation as to whether the steep hillside will 

 not be precipitated into the depths below. Immediately to the 



* Subsequent explorations show that several rocks, measuring over 1,000 

 cubic feet in solid contents, have been ejected in this neighbourhood. 



