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Kōrero: Geology – overview

Gneissic rocks

Image
Gneissic rocks

This view looks eastwards, from the coastline near Charleston towards the Paparoa Range in the background. The foreground area is banded gneiss and was formerly thought to be the oldest rock in New Zealand. It is now recognised that this gneiss (called Pecksniff Metasedimentary Gneiss) is formed from rocks of the Greenland Group that have been heated and metamorphosed at depth.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Simon Nathan

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Eileen McSaveney rāua ko Simon Nathan, Geology – overview – New Zealand’s oldest rocks, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/8300/gneissic-rocks (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Eileen McSaveney rāua ko Simon Nathan, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.