Geo junkets: New Zealand, North Island (Part 1)
Jesse Garnet White (USA) Fig. 1. Legend/Key:1 = Sediments (Cretaceous and Cenozoic).2 = Greywacke (Permian and Triassic).3 = Schist (Carboniferous to Cretaceous).4 = Volcanic rocks (Cretaceous and Cenozoic).5 = Sediments and ophiolites (Northland and East Coast allochthon) (Cretaceous and Oligocene).6 = Pyroclastic rocks (Triassic and Jurassic).7 = Limestone, clastics and volcanic rocks (Central and Eastern sedimentary zone) (Cambrian to Devonian).8 = Granitoids (Paleozoic and Cretaceous).9 = West Fiordland metamorphic zone (Paleozoic and Cretaceous).10 = Ophiolites and pyroclastics (Permian).11 = Volcanic rocks (including pyroclastics) (Permian).12 = Mafic and ultramafic complexes (Paleozoic and Cretaceous).13 = Greywacke (Western sedimentary zone) (Cambrian to Ordovician). Auckland and the AVF In a thick brain fog, crusty eyed and yawning, I sat up in bed at 4:30 am. I was in Auckland, New Zealand. It was still dark outside when I drove to Mount Eden (Maungawhau), where I hiked up a narrow dirt trail lined by tall grass stippled with dew. Coming out of the verdure, my shoes, socks and shorts were soaked through. On top of the hill, a shadow-black grouping of trees blocked the creeping morning light from behind the Hanua Ranges. The burnt orange sunrise, obstructed by cumulous, lit up like a distant mountain wildfire. Auckland city centre was under puffy, lavender-white cirrus clouds, reflecting pastel colours across the harbour. Alone in the cool and crisp pre-dawn air, I viewed the various scoria cones in the Auckland Volcanic Field (AVF) bursting through the city neighbourhoods. Fig. 2. Map of New Zealand showing place names. … Read More