Mountains.

The distribution of the mountain ranges in the Province is very irregular and complicated; but to assist the memory of those who are not personally acquainted with the country, I may compare them roughly to the fingers of the right hand widely spread out, but with the first and second fingers approximated, and with the palm resting in the south-west part of the Province of Canterbury. In this case the thumb will represent the Hawkdun and Kakanui mountains, running north-west and south-east, which form the southern boundary of the valley of the Waitaki. The first finger will represent the Dunstan and Lammerlaw Ranges, running more or less north and south, which form the eastern watershed of the Clutha. The space between this finger and the thumb contains the large inland plains and the winding valley of the Taieri, and it is crossed in a south-west and north-east direction by four ranges, which lie at right angles to the general run of the mountains. These are Raggedy Range, Rough Ridge, Rock and Pillar Range, and the Silver Peak hills. The second or middle finger will represent all that rugged tract of country between Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu, called the Harris and Richardson mountains, continued southwards in the Remarkables, Garvie mountains, Obelisk Range, and Umbrella mountains, and running through the Kaihiku mountains to the sea at Nugget Point. It is bounded by the Clutha on the east and the Mataura on the west. The third or ring finger will represent the page 9Humboldt mountains, the Thomson and Livingstone mountains, the Takitimus, and the Longwood range, having a general N.N.E. and S.S.W. direction, and lying between Lake Wakatipu and the Oreti river on the east, and the Hollyford river, Lake Te Anau, and the Waiau on the west. Between this finger and the middle finger lie the Southland plains, bounded on the north by the Hokanui and Moonlight ranges, which run in a north-west and south-east direction, or nearly at right angles to the general trend of the mountains. And last, the little finger will represent the west coast range running in a north-east and south-west direction.