DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH ()/>' NEW ZEALAND. 



\ 165 





which proves to be a moraine that dams the waters back, Lake Tekapo bursts suddenly 

 into view, its HOCK! glittering in the generous sunshine, and the surrounding hills clearly 

 reflected on its glassy surface. Lofty mountains rise on either hand, and above the 

 lower ranges snow-clad peaks, while far away on the left Mount Sefton raises its towering 

 crest towards the sky. A diminutive islet not far from the shore contains a clump of 

 pine-trees, and in the: midst of it the dwelling of a run-holder. Lake Tekapo lies two 

 thousand four hundred and sixty eight feet above the sea-level, and is about fifteen miles 

 long by about three miles broad. It is formed by the Godley River, which flows into 





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THE MACKENZIE 1'LAINS. 



it from the north, and the Cass River from the north-west. According to Dr. von 

 Lenclenfeldt, " few places on the earth can be found where there is such an accumula- 

 tion of moraine. Here we find a large moraine from seven to ten miles in breadth, 

 and so high that in many places the rivers do not cut down to the bottom, and do 

 not disclose the geological formation on which it rests. The Tekapo Lake is, like other 

 Alpine lakes, particularly dirty, and looks like milk. The same is the case with smaller 

 lakes of a like description in the European Alps, but it would be hard to find a lake 

 in Europe which is so large as Tekapo, and at the same time so dirty. The reason 

 of this is that these New Zealand lakes are shallow. The Lake of Geneva, though fed 

 in the same way as Tekapo from glaciers, is remarkable for its blue and transparent 

 water; but these lakes in New Zealand are nearly as muddy as the streams which issue 



