Geological Survey of Canterbury. 61 



itself amongst the high ranges. We now entered into a truly alpine 

 region, and were surrounded by a rich vegetation, which grew also 

 most luxuriantly along the mountain slopes for a considerable altitude. 

 In front of us rose the majestic Arrowsmith range, the crenellated bold 

 outlines of which were brought out still more prominently by a cloud- 

 less deep azure sky above us. Numerous snow-fields nestled on its 

 "flanks, from which a glacier of considerable proportion descended into 

 the valley. About four miles from the glacier we had to camp, as it 

 was impossible to take the horses any further, owing to the valley 

 being often filled with enormous blocks of rock on both sides of the 

 river channel, which itself became occasionally very rocky. 



On February 27th we ascended to the glacier, which in honour of 

 my companion during this journey, the Hon. J. Hawker, Speaker of 

 the House of Representatives of South Australia, I named the 

 Hawker glacier. This glacier, which is formed of two main branches, 

 uniting about 1200 feet above its terminal face, descends to an altitude 

 of 4478 feet above the sea. Its terminal face is 1500 feet broad, and 

 the river issues from an ice cave about twenty feet high ; it is 

 only separated by a narrow but high rocky ridge from the Ashburton 

 glacier, and surrounded by walls several thousand feet high, 

 exhibiting well the stratification of the alternating sandstones 

 and slates. Returning to Lake Heron, I remained there for several 

 days to study the geological features of the surrounding country. The 

 shores of this little lake are very characteristic, and give a clear insight 

 into the great glaciation of the district, roclies moutonnees abounding 

 in its neighbourhood, of which the so-called Sugarloaf, a nearly perfect 

 cone, 3822 J'eet above the sea, or rising 1557 feet above the lake on its 

 eastern side, is the most conspicuous. I also made here, as afterwards 

 in the Upper Rangitata district, a number of observations with the 

 spirit-level, which proved that the numerous terraces, of which some 

 occur as high as 5200 feet along the mountain sides, were not of 

 marine origin, but simply either old morainic accumulations, remains 

 of ancient river-beds, or the deposits of small glacier lakes — the waters 

 of which were stowed up at considerable altitudes by the enormous 

 ice streams, during their greatest extension. Nearly a week was 

 devoted to a search for coal in the Clent Hills, but I was not able to 

 find any larger seams than those previously observed, which only owed 

 their existence to the presence of large flattened endogenous trees, the 

 bark of which had been altered to coal. On March 12th I proceeded 

 to the Rangitata, where, during a fortnight, I continued my search for 



