Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xkn. {igo2), No. VZ. 3 



to date even in New Zealand. Excepting during the wool 

 season, when the only boat in the service runs backwards 

 and forwards pretty frequently, communication with New 

 Zealand takes place only once in every two months, so 

 that there are few more isolated civilized communities in 

 His Majesty's empire than the little group of European 

 settlers on these islands. 



Chatham Island itself is only about 30 miles in greatest 

 length ; Pitt Island, separated by a wide strait and lying 

 to the south, is very much smaller, and in addition to 

 these two there are only a few small outlying rocks. 



The group is of volcanic origin and the configuration 

 of the main island is very peculiar. Nowhere exceeding 

 1,000 feet in height, the interior is chiefly occupied by 

 an extensive lagoon known as " Te Wanga." The 

 western part of the island is made up partly of low hills of 

 basalt ; on the east the lagoon is separated from the sea 

 only by low sand dunes. On the north and west also 

 there are long sandy beaches and extensive sand-hills. 

 Here and there are low sandstone cliffs on the sea shore, 

 and near Cape Young there is a deposit of tertiary 

 limestone containing enormous quantities of beautifully 

 preserved fossils, chiefly pectens and brachiopods. A 

 considerable portion of the surface of the island is 

 occupied by flat boggy country clothed with a character- 

 istic moorland vegetation, and sometimes covered by a 

 ^reat depth of peat. 



In addition to the great lagoon, which is said to be 

 very deep, and which probably marks the crater of an 

 old volcano, there are several smaller lakes. The lagoon 

 is fed by several small streams, and discharges its surplus 

 water into the sea through a channel which has to be 

 artificially maintained in order to keep the water from 

 flooding the low-lying pasture lands about its shores. 



