576 Transactiona. 



weathering. Water-worn material is present in some places, but never 

 comprises more than a small proportion of the material. The number of 

 very large blocks of andesite inci eases in proceeding down the valley, masses 

 over 6 ft. in diameter being more plentiful between Mataroa and Taihape 

 than elsewhere. 



The thickness of the til! varies from Oft. to 60 ft., so far as can be seen 

 in the road and railway cuttings, but it may possibly exceed 60 ft. In 

 many places the till rests on the summit of hills 300 ft. and 400 ft. above 

 the floor of the old glacial valley, and in these situations it is impossible 

 to determine the actual thickness. 



^j^<' I ICar/oJ basir., c/ra.inec/by)Yan^aehu /?. 

 i (■Vaiotiru 

 ' '^ '-i flautapu walershcd *) RangiiikeJ R 



Fig. 1. — Section from Ruapehu across Karioi Basin, drained by WanTjaehtj 

 BivER, TO Rangitikei Valley, showing Distribution of Glacial Till. 



On the Karioi side of the divide the till is mainly composed of clays ; 

 but on the Waiouru plateau, at a height of 2,660 ft. above the sea, andesite 

 blocks are in places present in large numbers. 



From the 24:4-mile mark onward, passing down the Hautapu Valley, 

 blocks become more and more abundant until Taihape is reached, beyond 

 which the clays predominate. 



As measured along the railway-line, the till extends down the Hautapu 

 Valley for a distance of some tw^enty-six miles, ending near Utiku at a 

 height of 1,220 ft. above the sea. Altogether the andesite blocks at the 

 southern limit of the till have travelled some forty-five miles from their 

 source at Ruapehu. The width of ground over which they are spread, so 

 far as the clearing of the forest will permit examination, is found to vary 

 from two to five miles. 



Grood sections of the till are exposed in the shallow railway-cuttings a 

 short distance west of Waiouru Railway-station, and in the deep cuttings 



""*T — '* — 1 



•°-Q''f^ ^^-Pd '' ^J'='- ^ — =^^ ^ ••i'^.O o A-,^-CA-^..^^ ••■ • 



s^ • /v\v 



Fig. 2. — Section of Railway-cutting South of Taihape. 

 a. Glacial till. h. Marine Pliocene clays, or papa. 



between Turanga-a-rere and Utiku, more particularly at 1 mile 60 chains 

 south of Turanga-a-rere, and also at four and five miles south of that place. 



