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Chapter III. Stratigraphical Geology. General Synopsis and Description of Geological Formations

Owing to the present still very unsatisfactory state of the classification of the stratified rocks in New Zealand, which, instead of being cleared up, has, especially with regard to the older beds, of late years become more entangled by constant alterations in the nomenclature—some of the most important beds, for instance, having repeatedly been shifted from younger palæozoic or older mesozoic to cretaceo-tertiary, and vice versa—I should only add to the confusion in which the matter has been left, were I to go outside the provinces with which I am specially acquainted, to make comparisons with fossiliferous districts in other parts of New Zealand, and to try to co-relate our older fossiliferous beds with those in all other provinces. I shall therefore confine myself, in this synoptical part, to giving a general description, adding a list of the principal fossils contained in each, and a short tabular statement, in which I shall try to co-relate the arrangement of Professor Hutton with my own.^*

More than ten years ago, when intending to send a large series of fossils, mostly from our older beds, from Mount Potts, Clent Hills,. Waipara, and Malvern Hills, to Europe, to be described by a Palæontologist of high position, the Director of the Colonial Geological Survey requested me not to do so, assuring me that he would obtain,. at an early date, the assistance of a first-class palæontologist, and, in order not to complicate matters or to interfere with the work of the page 250Geological Survey of the Colony, I abstained from sending them, promising him that I would wait till the necessary descriptions could be made here. However, I am truly sorry to say that hitherto, probably owing to various causes with which I am unacquainted, this necessary work has not been accomplished, and thus I shall not be able to present, in the synoptical portion, such a clear statement of the fossiliferous contents of our older beds as I should have wished, and which would have enabled me to settle conclusively the question as to the age of some of the beds coming under our consideration.

Fortunately Professor Hutton, whilst engaged as Assistant Geologist on the staff of the Geological Survey of New Zealand, has worked out the tertiary fossils, describing all that are new to science, and lately he has continued this task by naming and describing a number of tertiary fossils collected by me during the last few years in the south of Canterbury, for which my best thanks are due to him. By such means, it has been possible to place the stratigraphical division of our tertiary beds and their co-relations in the most distant parts of the colony, on a sound basis; and moreover, this work, the continuation of the labours of Hochstetter, Zittel, Stoliczka, Unger, Stache, and Karrer, has shown that the main divisions proposed by Hochstetter, who has laid the foundations of a general knowledge of the geology of New Zealand, have been confirmed in their general outlines by the more extended labours of his successors.

The most important work, in which the first classification of the New Zealand formations is attempted, is the geological portion of the Novara Expedition publication:—"Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857,1858, and 1859. Geologischer Theil, Erster Band, Erste Abtheilung, Greologie von Neu Seeland von Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter."

From this volume, the synopsis, with some additions, was translated for the English edition of the more popular work of Hoehstetter (originally published in German in 1863), which appeared in 1867. "New Zealand, by F. von Hochstetter."

The last classification was published by Professor Hutton, F.G.S., in 1875, in his Report of the Geology of Otago (page 26) with which I have co-related that proposed by me in the following synopsis, the same formations, with a few exceptions, occurring in both provinces.

Professor Hutton has also given some lists of tertiary fossils in the summary of his catalogue of the " Tertiary Mollusca and Echinodermata of New Zealand," which have been very useful to me:—

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Table of Metamorphic and Sedimentary Formations in the Provinces of Canterbury and Westland, New Zealand.

Hutton.	Age.	Von Haast.	Age.
Manipori formation	Eozoic. Laurentian (?) Lower Silurian (?)	Gneiss Granite and crystalline metamorphic formations.	Azoic.
Wanaka formation	Eozoic. Laurentian (?) Lower Silurian (?)	Westland formation in part	Azoic.
Kakanui formation	Upper Silurian (?)	Waihao formation	Silurian.
Kaikoura formation	Carboniferous Triassic Lower. Jurassic	Mount Torlesse formation	Carboniferous (?)
Matai formation in part	Carboniferous Triassic Lower. Jurassic
Putataka formation in part	Carboniferous Triassic Lower. Jurassic
Matai formation	Triassic.	Not yet observed. Westland formation in part (?)
Putataka formation	Lower Jurassic	Not yet observed. The eruption of Melaphyres and quartziferous Porphyries have occurred between this and next formation.
Waipara formation	Upper Cretaceous.	Waipara formation	Cretaceotertiary.
Oamaru formation	Lower Miocene.	Oamaru formation	Upr. Eocene or Lower Miocene.
Pareora formation	Upper Miocene.	Pareora formation	Upr. Miocene or Lower Pliocene.
Older glacier deposits	Upper Pliocene. Pleistocene.	Great glacier formation	Upr. to Post Pliocene.
Newer glacier deposits.	Upper Pliocene. Pleistocene.	Raised beaches	Upr. to Post Pliocene.
		Silt formation in part	Upr. to Post Pliocene.
Pleistocene deposits	Pleistocene	Silt formation in part	Quarternary.
		Estuary and littoral deposits	Quarternary.
		Fluviatile beds	Quarternary.
		Moa bones, kitchen middens, first traces of man	Quarternary.
Recent deposits	Recent.	Recent deposits, kitchen middens containing shells, bones of man, seals, birds, &c.	Recent.