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Story: Limestone country

Punakaiki blowhole

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Punakaiki blowhole

Salt spray is blown through a hole in the limestone at Punakaiki on the West Coast. Sea water has eroded large caves beneath this limestone headland. Fractures in the rock connect the caves to the surface, and when waves crash into the caves, air is compressed and erupts out of the blowhole along with salt water.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10055604

by Paul Schilov

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How to cite this page

Paul Williams, Limestone country – Dissolving rock, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12390/punakaiki-blowhole (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Williams, published 1 March 2009.