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the opposite side of the entrance Coal Island presents a continuous line of cliffs of equal height, while inside the Heads the waters of the inlet expand to form the outer or lower basin, which has its greatest breadth between the Neck and the northern angle of Coal Island. From the Neck the shore-line trends south-east to Cavern Head, between which and Coal Island the waters of the inlet are reduced to half their width at the entrance. On the south-eastern side, Coal Island presents an unvarying line of cliffs, above which the interior parts of the island have comparatively smooth outlines, which, no doubt, as seen from a distance, is due to the dense forest growth with which it is covered. On the northern side the shore-line is varied by smooth sandy beaches at Price's Beach, the Neck, and Te Whara Beach, between which bold rocky promontories or stretches of high rocky coast intervene. Between the Neck and Gulches Head the country is broken into hills and valleys, and along the western side of the peninsula granite rocks form a series of rounded peaks that are parted from the eastern area, formed of slate and gold-bearing rocks, by the valley of Back Creek. The Neck, so called, is an area of flat land, having a width east and west of not more than threequarters of a mile, while to the north it stretches from the waters of Preservation Inlet to the head of South Port, the first southern arm of Chalky Inlet. This low tract is not more than 50ft. above sea-level, and, being formed by alluvial deposits of comparatively recent date, and having on it a good soil, it is densely covered with heavy forest. Clearly at no distant date in the past the Neck formed a connecting passage between the two inlets, at which time Gulches Head Peninsula formed an island, and one of a chain of islands extending right across the entrance of both inlets. On the eastern side the low grounds of the Neck are bounded by high cliffs that run from inlet to inlet; and, reaching from Chalky into Preservation Inlet at the point indicated, are there reflected to the south-east, and continue till they terminate at the north-west end of Te Whara Beach. Te Whara Beach lies in front of a low saddle by which Cuttle Cove is reached, having Cavern Head and the associated hills on the right hand. In front of Te Whara Beach lies Te Whara, the island stronghold of a tribe of Maoris respecting which there are still traditions circulating among the miners of the district. Cavern Head itself is formed by a remarkably bold and outstanding point of rock which, being in the fairway of the incoming seas during south-west gales, resists the full force of these, and, as a consequence, is worn and weatherbeaten, seamed, and full of cavernous erosions, through which surges the tide in moderate weather, but over which and the lower part of the headland leap the giant seas during storm and more than ordinary gales. Passing Cavern Head the second division of the inlet is entered upon, consisting of two areas, hardly distinct basins. That to the north-east stretches between the mainland and a series of islands that separate it, from that to the south and south-east. Cuttle Cove lies on the northern side of this northern part snugly sheltered behind the hills stretching north-east from Cavern Head. To the north-east Cuttle Cove Bay is separated from Isthmus Sound by a long, narrow ridge, ending in a number of islands that shut out the view of the entrance to Long Sound. Some of these islands are very picturesque, and thus forms the most scenic and romantic part of these inland waters. To the south of Steep-to Island, Crayfish, Doughboy, and Long Islands lies Kisbee Bay and that part of the inlet inside of Cavern Head and Coal Island that forms the south-east area of the second expansion of its waters. This has connection with the outer sea by means of the narrow entrance between Coal Island and the mainland to the south. On the shore of Kisbee Bay stands the Township of Cromarty, which is situated on a limited area of flat alluvial ground between the lower course of the Grey River and the shore of the bay on which the township is located. The south-east shore of the inlet from Cromarty to Long Beach is bold and rocky—a steep slope, thickly bush-clad, rising to a height of 900 ft. or I,oooft. Behind Long Beach the cliff or steep slope is continued to Observation Point and Otago's Retreat where, narrowed between Coal Island and the mainland, the eastern entrance, lying between Coal Island and the northern shore of the mainland is approached from between Puysegur Point and the south-west extremity of Coal Island. Immediately north of the Township of Cromarty lies a small cluster of very bold and precipitous mountains of slate and granite, which form the eastern side of the entrance to Long Sound. Between these mountains and Long Island is a comparatively narrow strip of water which, beyond the entrance to Long Sound, is continued north in Isthmus Sound to the foot of Treble Mountain, which, composed of granite, forms the highest land between Preservation and Chalky Inlets, south of the Cunaris Neck and Sound. Isthmus Sound maintains an uniform width of less than a mile, and in its upper part trends about north-north-east, and has between it and Jane Cove, an indentation on the western shore of Long Sound, a narrow neck of rugged broken country showing granite only. The whole of Isthmus Sound, except one or two islands to the left of the entrance to it, shows the presence of granite rock on its shores. Its shores are bold and precipitous, but not so high as those of Long Sound and the two sub-sounds that branch off from it—viz., Useless Bay and Revolver Bay. Immediately on entering Long Sound high cliffs present themselves on the south-eastern side, with cliffs of lesser height on the north-western side. The narrowed entrance, about half a mile in width, leads into a sort of basin, from which Useless Bay extends to the north-north-east and Revolver Bay to the south-south-east. Useless Bay penetrates about two miles into and divides the peninsula area between Isthmus Sound and the lower part of Long Sound, and terminates surrounded by cliffs of granite. Revolver Bay penetrates nearly as far to the south, and its head receives the Grey River flowing along the west side of an alluvial flat formed by the infilling of the upper part of the bay by debris carried along the river-bed. Revolver Bay, and the rocky walls which inclose it, presents in the clearest manner the evidences of ice action, and it is evident that it was filled by a stream of ice that reached 900 ft. to I,oooft. above the present level of the water in the Sound. 5—C. 11.