THE GEOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND. 
459 
vicinity, it lias formed sedimentary strata around, in propor- 
tion to the quantity of matter ejected : much of this kind 
is seen at Wangaroa, and HicVs Bay, where the rocks 
are composed of volcanic grit, and contain most of the 
shells now found on the coast ; deposits of this kind are 
doubtless very extensive in a country where such agency has 
been so general. Whilst the Geologist notices these strata 
and the volcanic features of the country, he is also struck 
with the signs of frequent upheavements he meets with ; no 
one can walk from Wanganui to Taranaki without observing 
the many alterations of level which have taken place in that 
district ; near the north head of that river, at low water, 
may be seen the stumps of ancient trees still maintaining 
their position in the sea ; and on the shore another ancient 
surface appears with numerous trees jutting out, which are 
covered with lofty sand hills. Wai Totara — the river of 
Totara trees — takes its name from a thick grove still stand- 
ing in its bed, which so obstructs the course that a canoe can 
hardly wind its way amongst the many trunks which rise up 
in it ; at Manawa-pou, where the cliffs are little less than 
four hundred feet high, large stumps are also seen standing 
in the ocean, where they have braved for years the force of 
the violent surf which breaks upon that coast ; further on, the 
cliffs become even yet higher, and there also similar remains 
of forest are to be seen, above them is a thick stratum of blue 
clay, containing numerous marine deposits ; upon this is a 
former surface with large trunks of trees, which are covered 
with alternate strata of gravel, shingle, and sand ; then 
another layer of timber, upon which are other deposits, 
forming the present surface of the land. 
Wherever these ancient levels appear on the sides of cliffs 
inland, they are invariably marked by lines of vegetation, 
showing that the seeds buried in that old soil have not lost 
their former vitality, how many convulsions must have shat- 
tered the land, alternately elevating and depressing it, allow- 
ing time for a stately growth of timber, then sinking it again 
into the depths of the ocean, where, year after year, age 
after age, the gradual deposit of mud, finally attains a thick- 
