Geological Survey of Canterbury \ 73 



in their neighbourhood. After we had ridden through the outlet of 

 Lake Taylor, two miles long and half a mile wide, we crossed a saddle 

 between two roches moutonnees which separate the Taylor Lake valley 

 from a northern valley running parallel to it ; here a little lake 

 (Lake Mason) and several lagoons are situated, and in the Ice period 

 it must have been the bed of another arm of the great Hurunui 

 glacier. In the south, to our left, was a mountain range about 5000 feet 

 high, the upper part of which consisted of wild jagged rocks, and it was 

 easy to perceive from this how high the ice masses of this glacier 

 had once reached, above which these rocks must have risen like an 

 island. After two miles, in the course of which we had climbed over 

 several moraines which cross the valley, we reached the Hurunui 

 river, flowing 400 feet beneath us, in a broad valley. In order to descend 

 to it, we had to climb over the very distinct side moraine of the former 

 principal glacier, and then ride down five steep terraces, in doing which 

 the path made by the cattle was of great assistance to us. The valley 

 of the principal river is here a mile broad. After we had found a good 

 ford to cross the river, we continued our way on the northern side of 

 the valley, where at some places beautiful sugar-loaf shaped roches 

 moutonnees occur, while behind them, mountains rise 5000 feet above 

 the valley, the lower declivities of wdiich are generally thickly covered 

 with Fagus Menziesii. Numerous herds of cattle enlivened the solitary 

 region, the vegetation of which was already quite sub-alpine. In some 

 stony places the ground was covered with such thick masses of 

 Aciplu/lla Colensoi, that it was only with difficulty we could pass 

 through amongst its sharp bayonet-shaped leaves. Celmisia coriacea, 

 and spectabilis, the gigantic New Zealand asters, were also very 

 frequent, while the regular shaped bushes, often forming a half globe 

 of Veronica Colensoi, vernicosa and salicifolia, Olearia nitida, and different 

 Cassinias, Coprosmas, &c, covered the shore near the river-bed with 

 their delicate leaves, and masses of blossom. The nearer we approached 

 the Sumner lake, the more the high terraces willed in the river, till two 

 miles from the lake it is quite confined between high shingle walls. 

 Half a mile from the lake a moraine, situated about 250 feet above its 

 surface, covers the valley, which, however, has been partly concealed or 

 destroyed by the large cone of debris deposited by a mountain stream 

 coming from the north, and flowing into the Hurunui. When we had 

 ascended this cone, covered for the most part with thick beech forest, 

 the peaceful deep-blue surface of the beautiful lake lay quite 150 feet 

 beneath us, surrounded on both sides by high mountains which, for 

 about 2000 feet above it, were clothed with thick forest. Before the 



