AUCKLAND ISLANDS. 
97 
close to the western shore, where the land rises sheer from the sea as an enormous 
cliff’. This cliff’ would seem to be undergoing rapid denudation by reason of the 
prevailing westerly winds. The basalt-sheets dip slightly to the eastward, and at 
sea-level occasional dykes (8 77 , 892, 893) may be seen. 
Another point of interest is the delta at the head of Laurie Harbour, the inner 
land-locked part of Boss Harbour. This consists mainly of sand and shingle, but 
has occasional shell-layers which in some cases are several feet above the high-tide 
mark. The main stream of the Laurie Harbour valley now cuts into this and it 
would therefore appear, that here, as in Macquarie Island, we have some evidence 
of very recent elevation. Again, near Erebus Cove, a low spit of rock is covered 
by about 3 feet of clay (874) and boulders. All the boulders are rounded and 
Fig. 58. — The south side of Ross Harbour, Auckland Islands, showing Submerged Valleys. 
water-worn they vary from two inches to a foot in diameter. The smaller boulders 
occur in layers as if stratified, and the whole is overlain by a bed of peat. 
Basalt-outpourings were found in Enderby Island, and in addition curious deposits 
of clay and sand also occur. The clay seems to cap the basalts of the interior 
and is easily distinguished by its covering of tussock-grass. The sand appears in 
Sandy Bay as a bare hill edged with trees. 
VOL. I. 
