I 
86 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
near the Miko cliffs. Granitic cliffs and promontories, many of 
them formed by the huge boulders brought down by the numerous 
mountain torrents which here reach the sea through deep gorges, 
alternating with limestone cliffs, of which some, like the Bluffs of 
the Otahu, reach an altitude of 700 to 800 feet, and offer nearly 
perpendicular faces to the foaming surf, presenting, far away 
from the seaward, the appearance of remarkable fissures. Here 
the journey must be performed rapidly, to avoid being caught by 
the rising tide, it being, in many places, only possible to pass at 
dead low water. At the Wanganui river, the southern branch of 
which comes from the Lyell range, w r e again meet with level land, 
consisting of terraces, covered partly with valuable timber, and 
partly with rushes and swamp grass. This low tract ol country 
continues for twelve miles to the north, and at its southern part 
is from sis to seven miles broad, narrowing where the Karamea 
enters the sea. The Karamea plains are watered by the rivers 
Wanganui, Otumahaua, Karamea, and Oparara, and offer a fine 
spot for settlement. The high rocky mountain chain, of an 
average altitude of 6,000 feet, forming the Tasman mountains, 
a continuation of the Lyell range, show themselves above the low 
land in the foreground, running in a northerly direction towards 
Mount Domett, a gigantic snowy pyramid, in which lie the sources 
of the western branch of the Karamea, of the ITaihai, of the 
southern branch of the Wakapoai, and of the Aorere, the waters 
of which fall into Golden or Massacre Bay. The Lyell range has 
been laterally dislocated at its northern end, and a valley, 
containing low granitic hills, lies between it and the Tasman 
mountains, trending towards the Matiri. Through this dislocation 
I have no doubt that an easy pass will be found from the Karamea 
plains to the Matakitaki plains on the banks of the Buffer. 
The Tasman mountains are broken through by many rivers and 
streams, which run with great velocity towards the coast, and 
some of which flow through deep and frightful gorges. The 
sources of the Karamea, the most considerable river north of the 
Buffer, will probably be found near those of the Takaka, and may 
even extend into the western slopes of Mount Arthur, and thus 
lie near the head-waters of the Wangapeka, which, after joining 
the Motueka, faffs into Blind Bay. From the great body of 
water which it carries, it must drain a considerable part of that 
unknown country. Five miles south of the Haihai, limestone 
ranges again occur, and thence to the Ihua-tuaroa point, with 
the exception of the "W";akapoai valley, there are scarcely ten 
acres of level land, wild precipitous cliffs forming the only 
boundary to the foaming sea. The valley of the Wakapoai, if 
brought into connection with Coflmgwnod, wuuld offer an excel¬ 
lent situation for a small settlement; but it has yet to be proved 
whether small coasting craft can enter its mouth in safety. 
From Ihua-tuaroa point, where a lower country and sandy 
