472 



ISLAND LIFE 



PART II 



equable, their vegetation is luxuriant, and deserts or 

 uninhabitable regions are as completely unknown as in 

 our own islands. 



The geological structure of these islands has a decidedly 

 continental character. Ancient sedimentary rocks, granite, 

 and modern volcanic formations abound ; gold, silver, copper, 

 tin, iron, and coal are plentiful ; and there are also some 



MAP SHOWING DEPTHS OF SEA AROUND AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. 



The light tint indicates a depth of less than 1,000 fathoms. 

 The dark tint ,, ,, more tlian 1,000 fathoms. 



considerable deposits of early or late Tertiary age. The 

 Secondary rocks alone are very scantily developed, and 

 such fragments as exist are chiefly of Cretaceous age, 

 often not clearly separated from the succeeding Eocene 

 beds. 



The jDOsition of New Zealand, in the great Southern 

 Ocean, about 1,200 miles distant from the Australian 



