Speight.— 2'Ae Intermoniane Basins of Canterbury . 353 



element in the flora appeared, but that the form of the land-surface Was 

 entirely different from that existing now. The Southern Alps did not ex- 

 hibit their present form. Indeed, it seems reasonable that after the first 

 formation as a folded range, at the close of the Jurassic or the beginning 

 of the Cretaceous period, they were reduced to a peneplain— this would 

 take place towards the clo bh Cretaceous period' — and that on this 



peneplain the Tertiary beds were laid down ; that subsequently they ex- 

 perienced vertical and perhaps differential uplift, with a certain amount of 

 folding and undoubted faulting: and that the Tertiary sediments which 

 now exist as discontinuous remnants in the intermontane basins are sur- 

 vivals of this covering sheet. It is not maintained that they formed a 

 complete veneer over the whole surface, but that elevations that survived 

 the period of erosion projected like islands through the Tertiary sea, and 

 may in some cases have been sufficiently high to form sanctuaries for the 

 Antarctic element in our flora. 



Art. XXXVII. — Recent Changes in the, Position of the Terminal Face of the 



Franz Josef Glacier. 



By R. Speight, M.A., M.Sc, F.G.S. 

 {Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 4th November, 1914.] 



These notes as to the position of the terminal face of the Franz Josef 

 Glacier are based on observations supplied to me by Mr. Alec Graham, 

 one of the guides of our alpine region, who resides in the immediate vicinity 

 of the glacier, and to him my sincere thanks are due. 



In the year 1909 the officers of the Geological Survey, under the direc- 

 tion of Dr. Bell, made a complete map of the Franz Josef Glacier, and placed 

 pegs in position so that the changes of the face could be regularly and 

 accurately determined. The pegs are numbered in order from the western 

 side of the glacier, and the relative movements of the ice at each since they 

 were put in position are given in the following list, the original situation of 

 each peg being given first for the sake of reference : — 



No. 1. — On the steep rock-face on the western side of the front, at 

 approximately 7 ft. above the ice and 3 ft. from it. This peg was placed 

 near the edge of the ice, but was afterwards covered, and now lies buried 

 under the moraine left by the glacier. Since it was put in, the river has cut 

 a huge gap, between the western wall and the ice, for about 24 chains, with 

 a width varying from 2 to 3 chains. The nearest ice across the river is 

 about 180 ft. distant. 



No. 2. — On Harper Rock, 29 ft. from the ice-face and about 7 ft. above 

 the river-bank. This peg is now 215 ft. from the face, so that the ice has 

 receded 186 ft. 



No. 3. — On Harper Rock, in a ridge about 10 ft. above the lowest part 

 of the ice, but overhung by the cliffs and ice above. In 1912 this was 

 50 ft. from the ice, and now it is 120 ft. 

 12— Trans. 



