Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 2.djvu/454

410 to somewhat more than 6000 feet. The latter is the great centre of volcanic action, and has a large crater on its summit, sending forth smoke and steam, and from which eruptions of lava not unfrequently take place. Pumice, obsidian, and porphyry are abundantly distributed about this district. Hot springs (pui) are numerous; some have an argillaceous, others a sulphureous taste, and often a boiling temperature, accompanied by continuous subterranean sounds. Cold saline springs occur near the hot ones. Shocks of earthquakes, termed by the natives "Wiringa O te Wenua," or, trembling of the land, are occasionally felt. Ruapahu is even in summer covered with perpetual snow, the snow-line being here at an elevation of about 7000 feet. A chain of lakes extends through the interior. Taupo, the largest, is thirty-six miles long, and twenty-five broad, of a triangular shape, encircled by high cliffs, and situated in 39° south latitude, and 176° east longitude, at an elevation of 1300 feet above the sea, and Lake Rotu Aire at 1700 feet. On White Island (Puhia-i-Wakati) there is also a volcanic vent, sending forth smoke and vapour. Raised beaches occur on the coast, indicating here, as in Tasmania, an upheaval of the land.

The climate of New Zealand is so fine and equable, that the mean annual temperature falls little short of 60° Fahr. It is humid, as might be expected, in two narrow islands, 800 miles in extent, covered with forests, and on all sides encompassed by a vast ocean. Northerly winds prevail in winter, and the southerly in summer.

In the month of November, "Marama-ko te-ono," or sixth month of the New Zealanders, I found the nights so mild, that having on one occasion extended an excursion inland from the bay, to a greater distance than I had anticipated, in search of that beautiful species of pigeon, the Kukupa (Columba Novae Seelandiæ), which conceals itself in the deepest recesses of the ravines, feeding on the berries of the liands (Smilax), and other seeds, and where it is most