Story: Sea floor geology

Hikurangi Channel

Hikurangi Channel

Mud and sand from Kaikōura and Cook Strait canyons are carried by fast, muddy flows called turbidity currents. Most turbidity currents spill out of a gap 1,400 kilometres along the channel, where the current known as the Ocean Conveyor spreads the sediment into a fan. Some currents continue up to 600 kilometres further across the deep ocean floor.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

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How to cite this page:

Keith Lewis, Scott D. Nodder and Lionel Carter, 'Sea floor geology - New Zealand sea-floor sediment', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/map/5624/hikurangi-channel (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Keith Lewis, Scott D. Nodder and Lionel Carter, published 12 Jun 2006