BY W. G. WOOLNOUGH. 457 



Another band of slaty rock is met with between Botenauhi 

 (called Moira before)"^ and VVaibasaga (called Togicedra before),* 

 and extending some distance northwards. These are even more 

 schistose in appearance than the rocks of the Nasava series; 

 some of them appear in section extremely like some of the 

 felspathic quartzites of the Cambrian rocks of South Australia. 

 Most of them are, however, strongly felspathic and actinolitic, 

 and must probably be classed with the trachytic rocks of Nasava. 

 I attempted to map in the boundaries between these four sets of 

 rocks, but could obtain no definite proof even of their relative ages. 

 They are exposed only at the bottom of the narrow V-shaped 

 river valleys; immediately the hills are mounted one comes upon 

 the level-bedded later volcanic series. In the river-beds and 

 jungle-covered banks I found no sections showing junction-lines 

 between the granites and slaty rocks. The entire absence, even 

 amongst the river-gravels, of quartz porphyries, and the fact that 

 no granitic veins were observed in the field intersecting the 

 slaty rocks, seem to indicate that the granites are older than the 

 slates. On the other hand, there is no definite evidence of 

 trachytic dykes in the granite masses, unless certain small masses 

 near Botenaulu are of such a character. 



The general trend of all the members of the older series is 

 about N.N.E.-S.S.W., which also agrees with the direction of dip 

 of the jointed tuffs south of the Udu.f There is no doubt that 

 this area of crystalline and slaty rocks is continuous with those 

 met with in the Wainivalau, Waiqa, and Wailato,J and else- 

 where. The generally even surface presented by these rocks 

 points to their having formed a peneplain. This involves an 

 extensive land surface, poioerful earth-movements, and enormous 

 denudation during a protracted period of existence above sea-level, 

 in other words, a continental character for the ancient land. The 



* Moira is the name of the district, and Botenaulu is its chief town. 

 Tokikicedra is the name of the rocks actually photographed (These Proceed- 

 ings, Vol. xxviii. PI. xxxi. fig. 14) opposite the town of Waibasaga. 

 t Former paper, p. 476. 

 X Vide infra, p. 469. 



