be penetrated in every direction with fumaroles, solfataras, and boiling springs, rendering it absolutely unsafe to trespass from the ascertained paths. The rocks of which these hills were formed have been completely decomposed into clays of various colors, from which all vestiges of their original structure have been obliterated. There are very few traces of existing volcanic action on the southern side of the lake, although the decomposition which the rocks there have suffered indicates that they have been subjected, in times past, to action precisely similar to that which is producing more complete results amongst the rocks of the eastern hills. On the west shore, occupying a recess or gully in the hills is the terraced fountain, usually termed the Pink Terrace, the native name of which is Otukapuarangi. Singularly enough this geyser is never in a state of ebullition, the water being considerably below boiling point, but clouds of steam perpetually arise from it. The deposit is similar to that of all the other terraces, but is of a pale pink color, and the whole structure, though by no means as remarkable or grand as the Tarata, is, nevertheless, one of extreme beauty and delicacy. The basin is from 60 to 70 feet in diameter, and from 30 to 40 feet deep, and when the steam blows away from the surface, so as to enable the eye to penetrate its recesses, its sides are seen to consist of the most magnificent stalactitic masses, one of which, rising near the centre of the basin, is of stupendous size, and wonderful in the richness of its tracery. I have thus endeavored to give some idea of the scenes presented around the marvellous Rotomahana—scenes of magic beauty, but awful when we contemplate the forces still in action amongst them, and I will now state a few matters in connection with these phenomena, which were chiefly communicated to me, but which I was enabled, in some degree, to verify by my own observations. Dr. Von Hochstetter, in his work on New Zealand, says of the Tarata, that he was informed by his native guide “that sometimes the whole mass water in the basin is suddenly thrown out with an immense force, and that then the empty basin is open to view to the depth of 80 feet, but that it fills again very quickly,” adding that “such eruptions only occur during violent easterly gales.” The learned doctor then proceeds to comment upon this statement on the assumption of its truth, although a little reflection and observation of the surrounding ground would have satisfied him at once that such an occurrence, if not actually impossible, never had taken place. As a fact the basin of the Tarata is not unfrequently empty, and this takes place regularly during heavy north-easterly gales, but the water,