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Story: Geological exploration

Rangitīkei River

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Rangitīkei River

This sketch of sandstone cliffs in the Rangitīkei River (at the junction of the Moawhanga River) was made by J. C. Crawford during an exploring trip in January 1862. The bedded rock is now known as the Tahere Formation: massive brown micaceous sandstone containing layers of concretions. These were deposited in shallow water about 3.2 million years ago.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: E-041-021

by James Coutts Crawford

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Simon Nathan, Geological exploration – The search for gold and minerals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/8138/rangitikei-river (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Simon Nathan, published 2 March 2009.