CHAP. III.] PORT NICHOLSON. 69 



of which Cape Te-ra-witi is the outermost point, 

 and those which form the eastern boundary, leave 

 between them a triangular space, formed of alluvial 

 land brought down by the river Eritonga, or Hutt. 

 A sandy beach, two miles and a half in length, 

 borders this alluvial flat, from which the water 

 shoals to some distance. In consequence of its be- 

 ing opposite to the entrance of the harbour, a heavy 

 surf is found here during southerly winds. The 

 apex of this delta is about seven miles from the 

 beach, where the hills approach each other and form 

 the gorge of the river. At a distance of about forty 

 miles a range of hills, which early in autumn are 

 covered with snow, shuts in the view. These moun- 

 tains the Tararua range run north and south, 

 and are therefore best seen from off Entry Island, 

 or Kapiti. They extend towards the centre of the 

 northern island, and are connected, by the Rua 

 Wahine range, with the group of the Ruapahu and 

 Tongariro. To the westward of this range, that is, 

 from the centre of the island towards Cape Egmont, 

 the land is comparatively flat, with slight undula- 

 tions, Mount Egmont excepted, which stands much 

 isolated. 



The hills which bound Port Nicholson to the 

 westward, and terminate at Cape Te-ra-witi, and 

 those which bound it to the eastward, and terminate 

 at Baring's Heads, are branches of the Tararua 

 range. 



Their geological structure is argillaceous schist, 

 interrupted, especially on the western shore, by 



