284 Transactions. 



This description of lake and mountain could only have been written by 

 one famihar with both. Neither DieJffenbach nor Hochstetter has de- 

 scribed the lake, the geyser, puia, and ngawha in greater detail than Domett 

 has done in his inimitable 17th canto, into which the actions of two young 

 lovers are wound with rare poetic power. 



Two English writers of eminence visited Rotomahana before the great 

 catastrophe took place, but neither Trollope nor Froude possessed any 

 special scientific knowledge ; and although their descriptions, particularly 

 that by Froude in his " Oceana," form dehghtful word-pictures of the 

 inimitable White and Pink Terraces they contain nothing beyond what 

 has already been stated concerning Rotomahana and its marvellous sur- 

 roundings. 



Since the eruption in 1886 very little has been written concerning this 

 interesting district. In March, 1893, Mr. Percy Smith, who was at the 

 time Surveyor-General, visited the country immediately round the site of 

 the Tarawera eruption, and noted some of the changes that had taken 

 place. Referring to Rotomahana, Mr. Smith says, " The two lakes exist- 

 ing soon after the eruption [Rotomahana and Rotomakariri] have since 

 become merged into one, and the bounds very greatly extended — so much 

 so that instead of a surface of 25 acres for the two lakes in August, 1886, 

 they now cover, roughly, 5,600 acres, and at the same time the waters have 

 risen from a level of 565 ft. to 985 ft. The lake as at present existing is 

 bounded on all sides by steep hills, which formed the walls of the great 

 crater in June, 1886." Since this was written Lake Rotomahana has con- 

 tinued to enlarge, and at present it extends from north to south more than 

 five miles, and in its widest part reaches nearly two miles and a half, and 

 contains an area of about 7,500 acres. 



Hochstetter pointed out that the lake was fed by three streams. The 

 only stream that is seen to flow into it at present is the Haumi, which comes 

 from the chasm towards the south ; but another stream flows into the 

 lake abreast of the small island known as Patiti. This stream comes from 

 Lake Rerewhakaihu, and for a portion of its course runs underground. 

 The rapid increase of water in the lake, and the merging of Rotomakariri 

 and Rotomahana so soon comparatively after the eruption, suggests that 

 the lake must be supplied largely from some underground source. Pos- 

 sibly the water that falls upon Tarawera and Ruawahia drains into Roto- 

 mahana by way of the chasm, so that it is likely the lake will continue to 

 increase, and subsequently be merged with the Rerewhakaihu Lake, which 

 is estimated to be between 30 ft. and 40 ft. above that of Rotomahana. 

 But, as Rotomahana has only to rise a little more than 30 ft. before being 

 able to burst through and form a channel into Lake Tarawera, an interest- 

 ing problem presents itself which time alone can solve. Should the time 

 arrive when Rotomahana breaks through into Tarawera, a dangerous rush 

 of waters will take place that might result in serious damage to the low- 

 l}dng country in the vicinity of Te Teko. But Rotomahana as a lake has 

 plenty of room for expansion to the southward, and this it is now doing 

 along the line where the activity at present is riiost powerful. The thousand 

 steam-vents that were to be seen in 1887 have all been covered by water, 

 but they are no doubt as active as ever. The pressure of the overlying 

 water keeps them from exploding, but the steam-vents along the south-west 

 sides of the lake are extremely active, and present features that imply rapid 

 changes underneath. Along the fissure towards the south, near the place 

 where tourists enter and leave the launch when coming from or ";oing to 



