26 
THE GEOLOGY OE AUCKLAND. 
wliane range, about 2000 feet above the level of the sea, in which 
is the pass from the Mokau to the Whanganui country. # 
Without a map on a large scale, which I have had no time to 
prepare, it would be useless to enter more minutely now into a 
description of the various localities in which the different 
formations occur. I may, however, mention that limestone and 
brown-coal have been found in places to the North of Auckland, 
in the districts from Cape Rodney to the North Cape. 
The horizontal beds of sandstone and marls which form the 
cliffs of the Waitemata, and extend in a Northerly direction 
towards Kawau, belong to a newer tertiary formation, and, 
instead of coal, have only thin layers of lignite. A characteristic 
feature of this Auckland tertiary formation is the existence of 
beds of volcanic ashes, which are here and there interstratified 
with the ordinary tertiary layers. 
I must say no more on the tertiary sedimentary formations, 
in order that I may leave some time to devote to the volcanic 
formations, which, from their great extent and the remarkable 
and beautiful phenomena connected with them, render the 
Northern Island of New Zealand, and especially the Province 
of Auckland, one of the most interesting parts of the world. 
VOLCANIC FORMATIONS AND PHENOMENA. 
Lofty trachytic peaks covered with perpetual snow, a vast 
number of smaller volcanic cones presenting all the varied 
characteristics of volcanic systems, and a long line of boiling 
springs, fumaroles, and solfataras, present an almost unbounded 
field of interest, and, at the same time, succession of magnificent 
scenery. 
It is only through a long series of volcanic eruptions, 
extending over the tertiary and post-tertiary periods, that the 
Northern Island has attained its present form. It would be 
a difficult task to point out the ancient form of the antipodean 
Archipelago the site of which is now occupied by the Islands of 
New Zealand. I must confine myself to a simple indication of 
the events which have given this country the form it was found " 
to have by the South Sea Islanders on their arrival, many 
centuries ago, from the Samoan group—a form in all main 
respects the same as is now before our eyes. 
