Geological Survey of Canterbury. 21 



It was thus evident that the surface of the Grodley glacier could only- 

 he reached from this western side with great difficulty and considerable 

 loss of time, so instead of crossing, we followed up the smaller branch 

 for some distance, and returned late in the evening to camp, bringing 

 with us a large collection of geological and botanical specimens, the 

 latter containing several interesting novelties. 



Next day I crossed the Grodley river opposite our camp, where the 

 river flows with great velocity in numerous branches — I counted 

 twenty-one of them — and reached soon the western glacier, which I 

 named the Classen glacier. Froin the fact that several older moraines, 

 densely clothed with sub -alpine vegetation were already half buried in 

 the present terminal moraine of the glacier, it was clear to me that the 

 glacier after a period of retreat is now again advancing. The terminal 

 face of this glacier about a mile broad is with the exception of an ice wall, 

 about eighty yards broad, a quarter of a mile from its southern end, and 

 of a low ice vault the same distance from the northern end, entirely 

 covered with morainic accumulations, on which, but not without danger 

 from the rolling blocks of rock it is easy to ascend. The height of 

 the glacier is here 180 feet above the valley. Travelling over the 

 glacier for several miles I found that with very few exceptions it was 

 covered everywhere with a debris load of great thickness, which as it 

 very often consisted of very large blocks of sandstone and slate, made 

 travelling rather laborious. I measured one of them, a block of fine 

 grained greenish sandstone, and which was by no means the largest, 

 and found it to be 20 feet high, 16 feet broad, and 27 feet long.. 

 Another huge block of chocolate coloured slate measured 24 feet, with a 

 thickness of 11 feet, and a breadth of 19 feet. The view from this 

 glacier was most grand and varied. On both sides rose high mountains, 

 of which the Hector range on the northern side, covered with large snow 

 fields from which a great number of branch glaciers descended to join 

 the main ice stream, was conspicuous by its wild serrated outlines and 

 majestic forms. The greater portion of the Grodley glacier, bounded by 

 lofty snow-covered peaks, was also visible. To the south the horizon 

 was bounded by the blue mirror of Lake Tekapo, lying at the termination 

 of the broad valley of the Grodley, through which the river was seen 

 meandering in countless channels. Continuing our ascent of the 

 glacier we found that it turned gradually to the south, and that the 

 morainic accumulations, hitherto covering the whole ice from side to side, 

 now broke up into a number of ridges, which the eye could follow to 

 the bold rocky projections and buttresses, which rose with sharply 



