Geology 



Smithford, which stands at the junction of East 

 River with the main stream, was an early settlement and 

 was originally established at the ford over the tributary 

 stream, which is now replaced by a road and railway 

 bridge. It owes its present importance to the extreme 

 richness of the soil in its neighbourhood, and the 

 consequent flourishing condition of agriculture. This 

 great fertility is doubtless due to the materials brought 

 down by the river and originally derived from the waste 

 of many different kinds of rock in various parts of its 

 drainage basin. The diversity of the parent rocks, as 

 regards chemical composition, ensures the presence of all 

 the substances necessary for plant life, which might not 

 be the case with the alluvium of a stream draining but 

 a single kind of rock. 



A journey up East River might furnish us with an 

 opportunity of examining the inland extension of the 

 rocks already studied on the coast between Seaview and 

 Clifftown, and with this object in view we made a few 

 days' stay in the Smithford district. 



For some distance the character of the tributary 

 stream was similar to that of the main Button River, 

 and our journey being necessarily slow as there was 

 insufficient water for the steamer and we had, in conse- 

 quence, to use boats became somewhat tedious. 



At the junction of the two streams we decided to 

 explore the one which flowed in from the south-east, 

 and as this was navigable with difficulty even by small 

 boats, we obtained horses at a farm and rode up the 

 valley. This was shallow and the surrounding district 

 devoid of any marked features, a low rolling country, for 

 the most part covered with trees. 



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