 glaciated, the size of the glaciers being correlated with the altitude of the 
 peaks. The Great Tasman glacier is about 29 km long and its terminal 
un m above sea-level.. On en Hr Fox ee osef 
a the N. FR eease = ali 
8 glaciers are generally cover 
Physical Features of New Zealand proper. 35 
low water. The short N. coast is frequently precipitous through truncation of 
the tableland. The North Cape is almost an island 
Where dunes are absent on the S.W. and W. coasts there are cliffs some 
volcanic (Maunganui Bluff &c.), others limestone (Kawhia, W. of Taranaki &c.) 
and others of slaty shale (Reef Point, South Waikato Head &c.). 
Many kilometres of coast are without inlets, estuaries &c. With the exception 
of Wellington and Porirua Harbours in the S., nearly all of any moment are 
to be found on the E. and W. coasts of Auckland. 
b. The South Island. 
Mountains. The surface is extremely mountainous. Commencing in the 
S. there are two chains'), the one composed of gneisses and granulite on the 
W., and the other of schist extending from the shore at Dunedin and joining 
the former between Lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka. As the Southern Alps 
they are continued in an unbroken line to Cook Strait. All the eastern 
slopes are formed of slaty shales and greywackes. Below the shales &c. on 
the W. the rock is schist, but at low levels occasionally gneiss. Granite occurs 
in a few places. The loftiest peaks are situated at about the centre of the 
chain. They vary from some 3000 m to 3766 m (Mt. Cook]. Proceeding N. 
and S., the range gradually decreases in height, but few peaks are lower than 
ı80oo m. Many lofty ranges and spurs extend eastward for 48 km or there- 
abouts from the main Divide. These eastern mountains are especially charac- 
terized by the vast masses of unstable debris covering their slopes and locally 
known as “shingle-slips”. we 
The snow-line in the Southern Alps is probably, on an average, at bon. 
2200 m, but it is not uniform and varies according to latitude, while also itis 
lower on the W. than on the E. The central part of the range is heavily 
