Story: Geology – overview

Hawks Crag (1st of 2)

Hawks Crag

Hawks Crag is a prominent landmark in the lower Buller Gorge, where the road has been excavated through a bluff that drops into the Buller River.

Hawks Crag and the surrounding area is made of rock named Hawks Crag Breccia – massive, thick beds of sedimentary rocks containing angular fragments that have been tilted about 40° to the right (west). Low-grade uranium mineralisation was discovered in the Hawks Crag Breccia in 1955. But despite prospecting over the next two decades, no economically recoverable deposits of uranium were found.

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Photograph by Simon Nathan

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How to cite this page:

Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, 'Geology – overview - New Zealand breaks away from Gondwana', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/8314/hawks-crag (accessed 18 April 2024)

Story by Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, published 12 Jun 2006