Canterbury and Westland. 209 



separated only "by a dam of fluviatile shingle thrown across it by the 

 Harper. When descending the Eiver Wilberf orce, this phenomenon is 

 very conspicuous, even ten miles from the lake, which is apparently 

 separated only by a small strip of low level land from the river-bed, 

 so that as the valley continues straight, does not narrow, and the turn 

 of the river towards the Eakaia is concealed from our view, it seems 

 as though the Wilberforce were flowing into the lake, and the low 

 shingle deposit were simply its delta. 



In that portion of this Eeport in which I shall treat of the post- 

 tertiary geology, I shall speak again of the five remarkable longitudinal 

 valleys or ancient glacier channels between the junction of the Avoca 

 with the Harper and the main Eakaia, which have been formed during 

 the Great Grlacier Period of New Zealand, and in which a number of 

 lakes and lagoons are situated, Lake Coleridge being by far the most 

 important, all the others being only of small extent. The outlets of 

 these smaller lakes, with the exception of Lake Selfe (1962 feet above 

 the sea-level) belonging to the affluents of the Harper, mostly join 

 Lake Coleridge by the Eyton. Of these small lakes, Lake Catherine 

 lies in the first longitudinal depression close to the Cragieburn range, 

 Lake Ida (2304 feet) and some other smaller ones in the second, and 

 the World (1980 feet) and Lake Georgina (1823 feet) in the third, 

 whilst Lake Coleridge lies in the fourth, and the Eakaia flows in the 

 fifth along the north-eastern foot of Mount Hutt. From the junction 

 of the Wilberforce with the Eakaia, the united waters, although still 

 retaining the character of a broad shingle-bed, flowing in several 

 channels, constantly separating and re-uniting, are now confined 

 between high banks for about fourteen miles, after which the gorge 

 proper of the Eakaia begins. The river, for a distance of eight miles, 

 is here confined in one single channel impassable except in a boat. 

 On both sides rocky precipices rise in wild forms, often 600 to 700 

 feet high, presenting some of the finest scenery of that character in 

 New Zealand, and of which Mr. Sealy's fine photograph attached 

 to this Eeport gives a well-selected view. At the lower end of 

 the gorge the rocks disappear, the river-bed widens considerably,, 

 and the banks, although at first still of the same altitude, now 

 consist of morainic and fluviatile deposits. As we descend the 

 river, these deposits become gradually lower, till near the railway 

 bridge, they have fallen to the present level of the river. Numerous 

 terraces of fluviatile origin accompany the river-bed on both sides, 

 getting gradually wider and more shallow, ceasing also near the 



