Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/302

94 (the Godley) brings down the principal icy masses from Mount Tyndall. The terminal face of the Godley glacier is 3583 feet, that of the Classen glacier 3528 feet above the level of the sea. The former would descend much deeper into the valley, did not the outlet of another glacier wash and undermine the terminal face, and thus destroy it bodily, an instance of which I observed after a heavy fresh, when large blocks of ice were washed down the river for several miles. The lateral moraines of both glaciers reach within 30 to 40 yards of each other, and there is no doubt that as the glaciers are advancing they will soon meet, and then present a glacial face of 3 miles, the Godley glacier being at present at its terminal face 1 mile and the Classen glacier, 1 mile broad. The valley, 4 miles below the glacial cave of the Classen glacier is 2 miles broad, covered with shingle, over which the turbid waters of the river rush in many branches.

On the 5th of March, 1862, crossing the river at this spot early in the morning, after a freezing night, I met with only 5 branches which could possibly be passed on foot by an energetic and strong man; but when returning in the evening, after a hot and cloudless day, there were 16 branches, some of them so rapid and deep that even the horses had some trouble to stand the force of the current.

The Classen glacier is advancing, some old moraines overgrown with a luxurious vegetation being already half enveloped by the blocks of rocks thrown down upon them. Both glaciers are very much covered by moraines. The great Godley glacier fully deserves its appellation of the New Zealand “mer de glace,” it being at the junction of its western tributary more than 2 miles broad.

About 3 miles below the terminal face of the Macaulay glaciers, on the slopes of Mount Forbes, large glaciers of the second order are situated, which, ending abruptly, send down two very fine waterfalls of about 800 feet high, which, after the melting of the snow, heavy rain, or other favourable circumstances, offer a wonderful sight. The main glacier has the peculiarity that it expands in a fan-shaped form, crevasses running towards a common centre, which may be placed where the glacier passes between two buttresses of rock. It is remarkably free from moraines. Another large glacier descends from Mount Forbes in a narrow gorge, and with a steep incline. The altitude of the glacial cave of the main glacier is 4375 feet above the sea-level.

I must not omit to mention two other glaciers also of large extent, the Hooker glacier, so called in honour of my distinguished friend Dr. Joseph D. Hooker, descending from the south and south-western slopes of Mount Cook proper, being enlarged by several branches from Mount Stokes and the Moorhouse range; and