Geological Survey of Canterbury. 145 



The Directors of the Christ church High School wishing to introduce 

 scientific instruction into their curriculum, I gave, at their request, a 

 course of lectures on geology, in the Town Hall, which was well 

 attended, and formed the beginning of a series of lectures which I 

 delivered at that institution on the same subject, during subsequent 

 years. 



Further papers on the Geology, and Physical Geography of Canterbury 

 were sent by me, about that time, to the Geological and Royal Geo- 

 graphical Societies of London, and printed in their Transactions* 



Exploration of the Head "Waters oe the "Waimaeariri, 1867. 



Having visited all the principal rivers, of which the glacier sources 

 are situated on the eastern water-shed of the Southern Alps, with the 

 exception of the Waimakanri, I devoted that year's autumnal journey 

 to that purpose, starting from Christchurch on March 7th. After 

 following the usual road to Porter's Pass, I remained there several 

 days, close to the summit of the Pass, and camped in one of the 

 gullies, during which, I ascended the Mount Torlesse and the opposite 

 ranges for detail geological and botanical examinations. Another 

 day was devoted to an investigation of the interesting cretaceo- 

 tertiary and younger tertiary beds round Castlehill station, which form 

 an outlier of considerable size amongst older paloeozoic rocks, and 

 where the calcareous sandstones have been washed and weathered into 

 most picturesque forms. Passing by the charming Lake Pearson, the 

 present conformation of which may be traced to two gigantic shingle- 

 fans at both ends, which have dammed up the water, whilst in the 

 centre, it is nearly separated by two steep shingle cones, reaching 

 almost the centre of the lake, we arrived at the Cass plains. Lake Gras- 

 mere is situated here, and through it the River Cass flows diagonaly. 

 As soon as we left Lake Pearson, we crossed over morainic accumu- 

 lations belonging to the old Waimakariri glacier, and which at one 

 time had also covered the whole lower country with its vast ice masses. 

 To these morainic accumulations, Lake Pearson, Grasmere and several 

 small lakes, subsequently to be mentioned, owe their existence. 



* Notes on the Geology of the Province of Canterbury. By Julius Haast, Ph. D., E.G.S. 

 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for November, 1867, and Altitude Sections of the principal 

 Routes between the East and West Coasts of the Province of Canterbury, New Zealand, across the 

 Southern Alps, with Map and Sections. And, on the value of Barometric observations, taken on a 

 rapid journey, for calculating altitudes. By Julius Haast, Ph.D., F.G.S. Journal of the Royal 

 Geographical Soctety, 1867. 



