298 Transactions. — Geology. 



First period. — Recent. — Surface or subsoil deposit. 



As remarked above, this is a widely-spread deposit, covering 

 the surface of the country over a large area. It can be traced 

 continuously from Napier to Tarawera, and from Gisborne to 

 Tarawera. At Napier and Gisborne it is a subsoil pumice, whilst 

 at Tarawera it is a surface pumice. At Napier this pumice is 

 seen to overlie pumiceous clays, and these in turn overlie pumice, 

 scorise, and in places grit beds. These latter beds do not appear 

 to belong to the higher pumice beds, which can be traced back as 

 belonging to the surface pumice deposits met with at Tarawera, 

 and thence onward to the Taupo Plain. I do not see how to 

 account for the existence of this loose, coarse, sandy pumice, 

 except on the supposition that at some period towards the close 

 of the Post-tertiary deposits vast showers of pumice took place, 

 which were succeeded by showers of volcanic dust not unlike 

 those which took place at Tarawera in July last year. The 

 small rounded pumice grits, which become larger and coarser as 

 we proceed m the direction of the volcanic zone, show, by their 

 shape, that they must have been subject to a large amount of 

 attrition ; and their peculiar position in the hill-sides goes to 

 show that water had nothing whatever to do in their deposition. 

 The entire district between Napier and Poverty Bay is more or 

 less covered with this characteristic deposit, which is overlaid by 

 a very thin coating of dark black soil. 



Second period. — Pliocene. — A pumice deposit, associated with 

 shingle, conglomerates, sands, blue clays, and lignite. 



This is a very remarkable deposit, and characterises the 

 period as one of vast movements brought about mainly by the 

 action of fresh water. The beds forming the southern shore of 

 Hawke's Bay, and extending from what is locally known as the 

 Black Beef, 2 miles or so within Cape Kidnappers, to Havelock, 

 and thence onward to Pakipaki, are the typical representation 

 of the pumice deposits of this period. The beds composing this 

 very interesting section must be, at the very least, from 1,500 to 

 2,000 feet in thickness, for they extend in a most regular manner 

 for several miles as high cliffs, dipping to the YV.N.W. at an 

 angle of about six degrees. The pumice alternates in these beds 

 with shingle, clays, blue and straw-coloured sands, conglomerate 

 and lignite, and, including the different beds, the pumice must 

 amount to several hundred feet in thickness. The pumice varies 

 in character in the different beds, from pebbles two or more 

 inches in diameter, to a very fine deposit somewhat resembling 

 chalk, and of a beautiful whiteness. In some of the pumice 

 beds fine specimens of fossil leaves are met with, and these are 

 as perfect in structure as if just gathered from a tree, their black 

 shiny carbonized surfaces being the only distinction between them 

 and freshly- gathered leaves. Every vein and veinlet are seen, 

 but their beauty soon lades when their surfaces are exposed to 



