Spekjht, CocK.^Y^'K, Laixc. — Mount Jrroirs/tiifh Dis^fricf. 331 



There are clear signs of the decrease in size of the gkcier, as abandoned 

 lateral moraines marking old ice-levels occur in places along the valley- 

 walls, and it is extremely probable that at a comparatively recent date it 

 stretched right across the Lyell River till it impinged on the lower slopes 

 of Mein's Knob. This river would then take a course through a tunnel 

 partly under the ice and partly under the edge of the knob. A large part 

 of this has at a fairly recent time slipped away from the face of the bluff 

 and left a narrow chasm which affords a path round the shoulder of the 

 knob, overlooking the river. 



(c.) Absence, of Terminal Moraines from Present Glaciers. 



The glaciers of this region, like the great majority of those in New 

 Zealand, are not forming any well-marked terminal moraines. Neither 

 the Fox or the Franz Josef on the west coast nor the Tasman or Mueller 

 on the east have any sign of a terminal moraine ; those formed by the 

 Mueller are really lateral moraines formed by a glacier crossing a valley. 

 In all the cases that I have observed the debris which reaches the terminal 

 face is removed by the transporting agency of powerful streams. The 

 Lyell Glacier has no true terminal moraine, and, although the Ramsay 

 Glacier is heavily laden with waste from the neighbouring hills, there is no 

 accumulation in the form of irregular heaps or a barrier at its end ; in fact, 

 there is no sign of such a moraine in the Rakaia Valley till the plains are 

 reached. The Cameron Glacier is not forming a terminal moraine at pre- 

 sent, although a very well-marked one lies some 800 yards away from the 

 present face. In the Rangitata Valley an exceptionally distinct one occurs 

 about five miles from the terminal of the glaciers. These moraines were 

 formed when the glacier reached further down the valleys than now, but 

 there must have been some difference in the then conditions which pro- 

 moted the accumulation of debris across a valley, when no such accumula- 

 tions are forming now. The actual circumstances under which terminal 

 moraines are formed seem somewhat obscure. They are taken for granted 

 as a feature of every glacier, but such is not the case. Why is it that the 

 Fox and Franz Josef have formed huge terminal moraines some distance away 

 from the ice, a little further down the valley, and are not forming any now ? 

 If the Ramsay Glacier, heavily encumbered as it is, were to disappear, and 

 the loads of waste that lies on it were to coat the surface of the ground, 

 there would be no sign of the heaps which characterize true terminal moraines. 

 The question must resolve itself into one of supply and demand. If the 

 glacier furnishes material in such quantity that the river can remove it, 

 then no moraine will form. If for any cause the supply becomes greater 

 or the volume of the river less, then accumulations will take place. At the 

 present time the material supplied to the Ramsay Glacier is excessive and 

 a moraine should result, but no moraine is forming. On the Lyell the 

 amount is not really great, and its front is swept quite clear. It may 

 be that our rivers have such a steep bed that they are equal to removing 

 even the fullest supply that the glaciers can furnish. But when the case 

 of the two great West Coast glaciers is considered this explanation does 

 not appear quite so satisfactory. In former times, when forming great 

 moraines, they had the same steep slope as now. The same remark also 

 applies to the Cameron. We must suppose, therefore, that a little time 

 ago the conditions were such as promoted the formation of enormous sup- 

 plies of waste. This may be explained by an increase in the height of the 



