Canterbury and Westland. 277 



Society for 1869, which is so applicable to our own Malvern Hill beds, 

 that in most instances, if we would substitute for the German names 

 such as Alrode, Lupbode, &c, our New Zealand names Selwyn, 

 'Flagpole Hill, they would describe and figure perfectly well our own 

 sections. This shows once more convincingly, that however far the 

 distance may be which separate two localities on the globe, the same 

 abys so -dynamic causes were at work to build up the solid crust of the 

 earth, under the same conditions, everywhere in like manner. Like 

 the conglomerates, these diabasic beds occur in many localities all 

 over this Province, but they are generally not so conspicuous as the 

 chertose rocks, altered by contact with them, which often form 

 turreted crests on the summit of the hills, or run up like walls on the 

 mountain sides. 



They are succeeded by sandstones, shales, and slates of various 

 characters, of which a peculiar fine-grained sandstone, with a white 

 decomposing matrix, is sometimes largely developed. In some 

 localities, the latter is interbedded between the conglomerates and the 

 chocolate-coloured slates or their equivalents, the diabasic ashes. The 

 whole series is always of great thickness, folded in a remarkable 

 manner, so that the beds stand at a very high angle, and sometimes 

 even vertical. In some districts, rocks of the same f acies forming beds 

 of great thickness prevail. In others, beds of an arenaceous nature 

 preponderate ; whilst less frequently, shales or argillaceous beds of a 

 slaty texture take their place. However, in many instances, the beds 

 are very thin, and alternate with each other in a most remarkable 

 manner, the divisions being sharply defined. I shall here give only 

 one illustration to show this. On the left bank of the Grodley river, 

 near the glacier of the same name, where a high cliff" rises from the 

 water's edge, the ribboned appearance of the beds was so conspicuous 

 that I measured a small portion of the section consisting of greyish 

 sandstones and dark bluish clay-slates, the latter in a few instances 

 gradually getting thinner in their higher portion, and disappearing 

 altogether, a bed of sandstone taking their place. The whole beds 

 dip at an angle of 46 degrees to the south-south-west, and follow 

 each other in ascending order : — 



8 feet inches, greyish fine-grained sandstone 

 „ 3 „ dark clay- slate 

 „ 4 „ greyish sandstone 

 „ 3 „ dark clay -slate 



