Mountains.

The chief mountain range of Canterbury, as of the whole South Island, is the Southern Alps. This magnificent ridge of snow-clad peaks forms, for over 200 miles, the western boundary of the province. It rises gradually in height as it runs south, and reaches its climax more than half way down its course in the peak of Aorangi (Mount Cook) 12,349 feet above sea level. Around Aorangi there are grouped a host of lesser peaks—Mount Tasman 11,467 feet, La Peronse 10,101 feet, Mount Sefton 10,350 feet, Mount Haidinger, 10,050 feet. The Minarets 10,058 feet, Mount Dampier 11,291 feet, Elie de Beaumont 10,200 feet, and a score more, ranging from 9000 feet to 11,000 feet. The valleys between these gigantic mountains are filled by some of the largest and most picturesque glaciers in the world. But these features of Canterbury scenery will receive at a later stage the separate attention that they demand. From the Southern Alps there spring many ridges of hills, some running, like lower outworks, parallel to the main range; others projecting, almost at right angles, to the line of the Alps themselves. The great plain which sweeps down from the Alps towards the east coast is thus guarded along its edge by a line of heights lesser than the alpine giants, hut rising to an elevation which in most other countries would dignify them as notable mountains. Mount Grey, 3050 feet, between the Ashley and Waipara valleys in the north; Mount Torlesse, 6442 feet, above Springfield, on the West Coast Road, and Mount Hutt, 7180 feet, at the entrance to the Rakaia Gorge, are some of these prominent landmarks. The Malvern Hills at the head of the Selwyn, the Clent Hills along the Upper Ashburton, the Harper Range on the Upper Rangitata, the Hunters Hills south of Timaru, the Ben Ohau Range between Lakes Pukaki and Ohau—these are some of the ranges that, for the most part offshoots of the main ridge of the Southern Alps, convert western and southern Canterbury into mountainous country anywhere within fifty miles of the sea.

It should be observed that the snow page 9 line in the Southern Alps and its offshoots comes far down towards sea, level. The glaciers on the west side of the Alps descend to a line representing a mean annual temperature of fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and on the east side to the thirty-seven degree line. In other words, in winter the snow line on the west side of the Alps is 3700 feet a ove sea level, and on the east side only 3000 feet. The natural result is that all the peculiar grandeurs of alpine scenery can be observed in the Canterbury ranges at a level far below that of the alpine scenery in any other temperate country in the world.

The great range can be crossed in Canterbury by several routes, but the only one practicable for wheeled traffic is Arthur's Pass, on the main road between Christchurch and Hokitika. The distance from Christchurch to Springfield by train is forty-four miles, and, within ten miles, after passing Springfield, the traveller reaches Porter's Pass, by which he crosses the first range of the system that separates Canterbury from Westland. The summit of Porter's Pass is 3102 feet above sea level— the highest point reached on the road. For twenty-five miles the road rises through rough broken country till the dividing range is reached at the Bealey crossing, where the Waimakariri sweeps out from the Southern Alps towards the plains. Twelve miles further on Arthur's Pass (3038 feet) is crossed, and the road then falls rapidly through the Otira Gorge to the level of the Westland river valleys. The Otira is a little ever 100 miles from Christchurch; the railway journey to Springfield is only forty-four miles, and the rest of the trip by coach occupies less than a day. The mountain districts of Canterbury are thus within easy access of the towns, even in the case of those lying on the east coast.

The other passes across the dividing range are: Browning's Pass, at the head of the Wilberforce, tributary of the Rakaia, 4700 feet above the sea; Mathias Pass, by way of the Rakaia Forks to the head of the Hokitika, and Whitcombe's Pass (4200 feet above the sea) leading from the head waters of the Rakaia and the Hokitika Valley. All these passes can be crossed with safety on foot, and the small hardships involved are more than compensated by the variety and grandeur of the mountain scenery. Harper's Pass, at the head of the Hurunui (3000 feet), once frequented by diggers and drovers, is now disused. Haast Pass, in the south of the province (only 1700 feet) is a remarkable break in the dividing range, but is practically useless.

Apart from the main range and its offshoots, the only mountainous district is that comprised in Banks' Peninsula. This curious knot of hills has an area page 10 of over 250,000 acres. It is composed entirely of ridges separated by deep gullies, with rich alluvial soil in the hollows. The whole tract is volcanic in origin, and the highest peak, Mount Herbert, reaches a height of 3012 feet. The whole peninsula, with its rugged hills and deep fiord-like harbours, affords a most picturesque contrast to the great plain to which it is attached.