The Recent Volcanic Eruption in New Zealand. 401 



My colleague, Mr. Thomas Davies, F.G.S., of the Mineralogical 

 Department, British Museum, has examined samples of the dust sent 

 home by Mr. Henry Gray, of Auckland, and collected at Botorua, 

 and also at Tauranga, •which is from forty to fifty miles from the 

 points of eruption, and finds, the former, which is the coarser, con- 

 sists of pumice, a glassy scoria, subangular quartz-grains, and a 

 felspar which is probably orthoclase ; the latter is of the same 

 materials, but finer, and includes more pumiceous dust. 



We cannot do better than close this brief account of the Tarawera 

 eruption by quoting the statement of two of the explorers, Mr. H. 

 Steel, and Mr. Blomfield, artist to the New Zealand Herald, who 

 appear to have approached nearer to the points of eruption than any 

 other explorers, up to the time our last advices left New Zealand. 



" We reached a very high and steep hill, almost perpendicular, 

 immediately above what once was Eotomahana Lake, but which is 

 now an immense basin, studded with hundreds of small volcanic 

 cones, geysers, fumaroles, and ngawhas, a regular witches' cauldron, 



awful and terrible From the point at which our party was 



standing we enjoyed a good view of Tarawera Mountain, Eotoma- 

 hana, and the line of volcanoes between Eotomahana and Okaro 

 Lake. One of these was throwing up black mud to a great height. 

 It was forming a high bank of mud on the western side of its crater. 

 An immense body of steam was rolling out of a large circular hole, 

 some two or three chains in diameter. Other volcanoes were throw- 

 ing out what seemed like a mixture of steam and smoke, but no 

 lava was proceeding from any of them. Low clown on the Tara- 

 wera Mountain, across the lake, a crater was still smoking, and from 

 its lower lip there was a large fissure, through which Eotomahana 

 Lake had evidently burst into the volcano. By this means an im- 

 mense amount of steam had doubtless been generated, and the 

 explosion which blew the bottom and sides out of the lake, leaving 

 it an almost dry basin, had followed. We observed several other 

 craters on the Tarawera Mountain still smoking, and in the one 

 opposite to us we noticed a large deposit of pure sulphur. ..... 



The view obtainable from the top of the upper hill, the nearest point 

 to which any one had penetrated, was always more or less obscured 

 by the steam rising from the basin. 



" From the top of the hill above mentioned the ground sloped 

 almost perpendicularly, and Mr. Blomfield and myself went down 

 the first half of the hill in grand style, without realizing the 

 difference between going down and climbing back again. However, 

 we had this brought forcibly to our minds very soon afterwards. 

 We landed on a small terrace, and then the descent of another hill 

 (not so steep) landed us on a small mud flat which lay between the 

 foot of the hill we had come down and the edge of the crater — that 

 is, of the place where Lake Eotomahana once was. We walked to 

 within five feet of the edge of the abyss, and looked over, and saw 

 a sight which I do not think either of us will ever forget. The wind 

 blowing from the north lifted the steam and disclosed the dry bed 

 of Eotomahana, which is now one scene of volcanic action, impos- 



DECADE III. — VOL. III. — NO. IX. 26 



