— 34 — 



wonderful combiiiatiou of lace«work around tlie edges of 

 the terraces but the siliceous laminations appeared even 

 thinner^ and reminded one of the corrugated surface of 

 pink satin rep. It was however the variegated tints of 

 this wondrous structure which rendered it even more 

 remarkable than the gracefully symmetrical proportions 

 of its incomparable design. As the blue-tinted water 

 came rippling and falling from terrace to terrace in 

 miniature cascades, Te Otukapurangi looked radiant in 

 its sparkling mantle of delicate pink, and as the golden 

 rays of the sun shot far and wide, it changed with every 

 shade of light, with brilliant hues of pink, amber, 

 carmine and yellow, which shown with a dazzling and 

 metallic lustre as they flashed and palpitated as it were 

 in the warm flowing air." 



The silica contained in the water flowing over these 

 two flights of steps (Te^Tarata and Otukapurangi) is ge- 

 nerally believed to arise from the passage of the surface 

 water of that part of the Country ( The Lake Country) 

 through the fiery stratum underground, and returned by 

 the force of overheated steam, bringing up with it 

 quantities of silica and other minerals. 



This terrific volcanic agency in New Zealand un- 

 precedented in the memory of man, together with the 

 upheaving of Kakatau in 1883 which has caused some 

 perturbation in the tides of the ocean and to all ikeli- 

 hood in the currents of the super aerial region, as well as 

 the frequent earthquakes of which we have heard lately in 

 the Mediterranean, and until s^the present day on 



