421 
of Wliakarewarewa in front, lay spread before our eyes. Here 1 
made halt for the purpose of making observations for the map , and 
committing the beautiful scenery to paper. The height bears the 
name of To whaka-hc kinga-whaka, and for the benefit of the lovers 
of interesting specimens of volcanic rocks I add, that the rocks along 
the road consist of obsidian, containing numerous, lavender-blue 
spherolites. This kind of rock is found over a large portion of the 
lake-district (the Ngongotaha mountain near the Rotorua also consists 
of it); but at the place above mentioned it is easy to knock off 
good specimens. 
Rotorua means hole-lake or a lake lying in a circular excavation. 
With' the exception of the southern bight, called Te arikiroa, it 
has an almost circular form with a diameter of about six miles and a 
circumference of twenty miles. Almost in the precise centre of the 
lake the island Mokoia is situated , formed by a conical hill rising 
about 400 feet above the level of the lake and with a Pali on its 
top. The circular form of the lake, the island in the middle, the 
white steam-clouds ascending along the shores, all this might easily 
induce the observer to take the Rotorua to have formerly been a 
volcanic crater, while in reality this lake, like all the other lakes 
of the lake-district, was produced by the sinking of parts ot the 
ground upon the volcanic table-land. The depth of the lake is 
comparatively but small , perhaps at noplace more than 5 fathoms; 
it has numerous shallow sand-banks, and the shores also, with the 
exception of the North-side, are sandy and flat. It is 1043 feet 
above the level of the sea, consequently of the same height with 
the Tarawcra lake. On the Southwest-side, the wood-clad Ngongo- 
taha mountain towers up to a height of 2282 feet. This is the 
highest point of the range of hills encircling the lake. Among the 
numerous tributaries, tlie Puarenga river emptying into the lake on 
the Southeast-side near Wliakarewarewa , is probably the most con- 
siderable. On the North-side the Ohau Creek forms the outlet of 
the lake to the Rotoiti, thus connecting the two lakes separated 
only by a low and narrow isthmus. 
The principal native settlement is Ohinemutu, situated at the 
