346 Traiisactions. 



The occurrence of the kxrgest boulders at Utiku proved too much for the 

 glacial theory, for the material was described as subglacial, and hence would 

 be subject to wear which would be greater the further it was moved. 



It may be objected that the source of the Hautapu is not at present to 

 be found in Ruapehu. While this is true, it is a fact that the source of 

 one branch, the Waiouru, is in the volcanic gravels derived from the moun- 

 tain. At any rate, this objection is more apparent than real. It must be 

 obvious that when the elevation of this area began, the streams from Rua- 

 pehu would flow radially outwards as they now do from Mount Egmont. 

 As elevation and erosion continued, interference of stream-courses would 

 result. One effect of this is to be found in the present course of the 

 Wangaehu, which now takes nearly all the western drainage of Ruapehu. 

 The air gap at Waiouru, through the Cainozoic country, may be cited in 

 proof of this, as well as the similar air gap at the head of the Mangaio and 

 of the Turakina. 



The mountain-ranges of the North Island have been studied by a 

 number of geologists from time to time, but none of them have recorded 

 any instances of the erosive effects of glaciation. The present writer is 

 familiar with the features of the following mountain-ranges — Rimutaka, 

 Tararua, Ruahine, Kaimanawa — as well as the volcanoes Ruapehu, Ngau- 

 ruhoe, Tongariro, and Egmont. As he has made many expeditions into 

 the glaciated districts of Otago, Westland, and Canterbury, he is acquainted 

 with the glacial features of mountain-ranges, and can assert, as has been 

 done by others, that the North Island mountains have not been glaciated, 

 or have not supported glaciers of any size at any time in the later geological 

 periods. Neither in the paper to which reference has been made nor in 

 any other publication has there been any mention of glacial valleys, ice- 

 worn surfaces, erratic blpcks, or moraines. In the absence of these there 

 is ample justification for geologists to refuse to accept the statement of the 

 past existence of a huge glacier extending over forty-five miles of country 

 to explain the formation of a thin deposit of clay with boulders in it, and of 

 gravels, the occurrence of which can be readily explained b)^ a simple appeal 

 to ordinary geological action. 



Summary and Conclusions. 



A. That an ice-sheet did not reach the east coast is proved by — 



(1.) The absence of moraines near the coast, except at the landward 

 end of the Taieri Gorge, where there have been important 

 earth-movements. 

 (2.) The absence of till and boulder-clay. The substances that have 

 been claimed as being of this material are — 

 (a.) Loess in Canterbury and North Otago ; 

 (b.) Residual clays from volcanic rocks at Dunedin ; 

 (c.) Moraine and valley-trains at the Taieri ; 

 {d.) Old sea-beaches at Caversham and at Green Island. 

 (3.) Absence of roches moutonnees near the coast-line. 

 (4.) Absence of striated glacial pavements near the coast-line. 

 (5.) Absence of erratics and striated boulders. 

 (6.) Absence of a glacial topography in all coa:,tal districts. 



B. The ice of the Wakatipu Glacier : — ■ 



(1.) The occurrence of thick ice in one valley does not justify the 

 conclusion that the ice extended over the surrounding country. 



