Skip to main content

Story: Rock, limestone and clay

Horokiwi quarry, Wellington

Image
Horokiwi quarry, Wellington

In this view of the Horokiwi quarry face, the vehicle at the base provides a sense of scale. The vertical beds consist of hard, fractured greywacke (light grey), which is intersected with thin layers of black argillite. Greywacke is the rock type most commonly used for aggregate in New Zealand.

Using this item

GNS Science

Reference: CN34040/21

by Lloyd Homer

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Rock, limestone and clay – Raw materials, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5194/horokiwi-quarry-wellington (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 2 March 2009.