New Zealand Its Physical Geography, Geology and Natural History, with Special Reference to... the Provinces of Auckland and Nelson

About this book

A reprint of a classical work in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Inhabited by Polynesians since the thirteenth century and discovered by Europeans in the seventeenth, New Zealand is a geologically diverse island group where active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes have resulted in a rich variety of rock formations and geothermal activity. In 1859-60, the geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter (1829-84) was employed by Auckland's government to undertake the first systematic geological survey of the islands, the results of which were first published in German in 1863 and translated into this English version in 1867.

Hochstetter describes his travels across New Zealand, his encounters with native people and his scientific observations. He analyses plants, wildlife and fossils, describes mountains, rocks and boiling springs, and evaluates evidence of glaciers and tectonic activity. As a result of Hochstetter's work, several species in New Zealand were named after him. New Zealand, its Physical Geography, Geology and Natural History remains a valuable resource in the history of Australasian natural science.

Contents

Preface to the German edition
Preface to the English edition

1. Nine months in New Zealand
2. New Zealand, physical structure
3. Geology and palaeontology
4. The mineral riches of New Zealand
5. Gold
6. The flora
7. The New Zealand pine and the New Zealand flax
8. The fauna
9. Kiwi and moa
10. The Maoris
11. The isthmus of Auckland
12. The north shore
13. Round the Manukau harbour and to the mouth of the Waikato river
14. On the lower Waikato
15. The Waipa and the west coast
16. From the Waipa through the Mokau and Tuhua districts to Lake Taupo
17. Lake Taupo, Tongariro and Ruapahu
18. Ngawhas, and puias, boiling springs, solfataras and fumaroles
19. The east coast from Maketu to Tauranga, and return to Auckland
20. Nelson
21. The southern alps

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