An Inland Sea.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13704, 19 September 1908, Page 4 (Supplement)

An Inland Sea.

IX THE NORTH ISLAND. The report on tins Tongnriro National Park recently presented to Parliament contains a very interesting section, contributed by Sir It. Speight, F.G.S. Discussing ti*® geological history of the district, Mr Speight states thab the oldjt>t rocks in the neighbourhood of the p-.irk aretheslates and sandstones of the Kaiuianawa Mountains. These are probably of carboniferous age, and form a portion of the structural axis of older rocks which extends through* North Island from near Wellington towards the eastern side of the Bay of Plenty. The southern portion of the Kaimanawas, at any rate, us part of a plain of mariue denudation formed in tertiary times, and the tolerably level surface" then acquired wa* mibs*quoutly raised above and thoroughly dissected by stream-action, «o that now it is compose*! of a number of morv or kss isolated elevations. At tin- time of the submergence a gn-at buy or strait must have occupied tite middle of the North Island, extending north-east, from Wariganui and probably cutting otf tlx; submerged parth of the KaUnarawtui and KuitliiiKs from i>i;uid*> lying to she northwest. An archipelago then occupied the area now covered by the North Island. Thick and extensive deports of marine clayw and lime-sUux-n stretching i» a broad band from th« Ruuhines aero?** the middle courses of riu* Bangtrikei, Wangtß-hu, and Wanganui Hirer** towards tltv lawiutn tn-a in the we-st, jirov". that m UHocetiu times the s*a transgressed over ft g'e- l! area in the aouth-waftem part of the inland. No doubt, says Mr Speight, a lino of tfcukuesjt in 'he earth s crust extends in an approximately straight lm© from liuapehu through Tonga and Samoa t•>■ wards distant Hawaii. 'lhis line may perhaps be called the "Maori line" of volcanoes, as Ho doubt the first. Maori immigrant* to the country followed its direction more or has cio.se ly, ami the legends of Uw native nice contain references which show clearly that, they recognised th* linear arrangements of the vents and their common origin. -Activity is mora pronounced now at tlw northern end of th?* line, perhaps <>*vi"g to the fact thai, another earth-ilvsurv ciosm* it, running wot north -west and «.i-! south east -i.e., approximately at angle.* to tlif Maori line. Th<gnat, volcano "f Navait, in Samoa, in placed at their intersection, and hence j!«f continuous activity for tlw pa*t few teat*. The liawKtM litw i* parallel to the Sarmwin line, and the Maori li«" when prolonged mtvi-sects it at the i'ii'r<of it# r»-at«.ii activity. ! :»r.- :h:i-> lw«» interacting of telluric crack* croxing thp Pacific Oc»--an. It s>. hlt-iy, think* Mr Sjx-:-h!. th it Kuapehu wsil i»e active again .-jwhsjs* not m tJ»e near funir«-, but slinc<*t <> r taiuly after a long apace of time. lt» g-ivr.il form, the character of « lava-*, though r.o; jn th<i»«-lr<s? absolutely »uftiCjetxt to warrant. llw predje'ion a* taiw. tft »«ggr.*f.» that ltuajv?hn ha-* ti"t through oall it>- pha*c« of it# J:fc luUorr.