Hill. — Taupo Plateau and Lake. 457 



village of Te Rapa. Behind it the hills rise to about 1,000 ft. 

 above the lake. In ascending, the ground is found to be of a 

 high temperature. The surface is bare, or is scantily covered 

 with mosses and lichens : it is formed of a red or white clay of 

 a soft and alkaline nature, which the natives use instead of soap, 

 and sometimes eat." 



The only other writer whom it is necessary to quote is Hoch- 

 stetter, who visited New Zealand in 1859. The account of his visit 

 to Taupo and the volcanic district is of much interest, and will 

 be found in his volume entitled " New Zealand," page 365 et seq. 

 He says : " Lake Taupo is a real inland sea, twenty-five miles 

 long from south-west to north-east, its greatest breadth about 

 twenty miles, and of a depth as yet unfathomed. It lies 1,250 ft. 



above the level of the sea The lake is everywhere 



surrounded with volcanic formations. Quartzous trachytic lavas 

 in the most different modifications of structure and colours 

 (crystalline and vitreous), together with huge masses of pumice 

 stone, are the prevailing rocks. They form round about the 

 lake a high table-land from 2,000 ft. to 2,200 ft. above the level 

 of the sea, upon which numerous volcanic cones arise, built up of 

 trachyte, pherolite, trachydolerite, or andesite, and partly also 

 of basalt. The lake itself evidently owes its origin to a break in 

 the plateau, and seems to be of extraordinary depth, especially in 

 its western half." 



Since the time of Hochstetter, although there have been more 

 detailed accounts written of Taupo and district, little additional 

 information has become available. Both Dieffenbach and Hoch- 

 stetter fully appreciated the extent of the volcanic forces in the 

 hundreds of cones that are to be found scattered over the district. 

 Some of the cones have no craters, and would seem to have had 

 their origin as huge blisters on the flowing lavas as they met 

 with surface waters that caused an expansion of steam. These 

 are seen to the west of Tongariro and Ruapehu, and pass for 

 miles across the country. They are also found on the Taupo 

 Plain, such as at Maunganamu. 



The actual dimensions of Lake Taupo, as given by the Survey 

 Department, are — length, 24 miles 70 chains ; breadth, 16| miles ; 

 the area being 242 square miles, or a little over 154,000 acres. 

 The depth may be said to vary between 390 ft. and 570 ft. 

 It contains the small island of Motutaiko, situated towards 

 the south-east of the lake. The form of the lake bears a 

 strong likeness to the African continent. At the south 

 end the Waikato, or, more correctly, the Tongariro, River 

 enters the lake and forms a delta extending from Tokaanu 

 round the south-east side for some miles. Between Tokaanu 

 and the waterfall known as Waihi, at the south-west corner 



