The Geological and Biological Origins of New Zealand
The Geological and Biological Origins of New Zealand
Introduction
New Zealand has a unique landscape with many animals and plants that are native only to itself. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the geological history of the formation, as well as the biological origins, of New Zealand. It will also discuss how the major land-forming processes of volcanism, glaciation and tectonic plates have shaped the country and defined it’s native flora and fauna.
Eighty-five million years ago the landmass now known as New Zealand broke away from the supercontinent Gondwana. This massive landmass moved into the Pacific Ocean and eventually became isolated in the Southern Hemisphere; it has had an ever-changing shape with it’s own often unique species' of plant and wildlife. By investigating the geological origins and land-forming processes of New Zealand we can piece together New Zealand’s creation and growth and learn how these processes, and the separation and isolation, have defined New Zealand’s flora and fauna. General background and historical information of the formation of New Zealand
Gondwana and its life forms
New Zealand's oldest known rocks are about 680 million years old and were once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. The sediment from these rocks eroded into the deep sea-basins, eventually hardened into rock, and then folded and was uplifted into mountains because of the plate tectonic movements of the Earth, forming part of the Rangitata landmass. (McKinnon, Bradley, & Kirkpatrick, 1997 p. 3).
Eighty million years ago the Rangitata landmass broke away from Gondwana and headed east on the Pacific Tectonic Plate. A fragment of this landmass eventually became New Zealand. As the landmass slowly drifted away, the Tasman Sea formed between the continents.
“About 26 million years ago the boundaries of Pacific and Indo-Australian Tectonic Plates ran through the New Zealand landmass, marked by the Hikurangi Trench and the Alpine Fault”
Introduction
New Zealand has a unique landscape with many animals and plants that are native only to itself. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the geological history of the formation, as well as the biological origins, of New Zealand. It will also discuss how the major land-forming processes of volcanism, glaciation and tectonic plates have shaped the country and defined it’s native flora and fauna.
Eighty-five million years ago the landmass now known as New Zealand broke away from the supercontinent Gondwana. This massive landmass moved into the Pacific Ocean and eventually became isolated in the Southern Hemisphere; it has had an ever-changing shape with it’s own often unique species' of plant and wildlife. By investigating the geological origins and land-forming processes of New Zealand we can piece together New Zealand’s creation and growth and learn how these processes, and the separation and isolation, have defined New Zealand’s flora and fauna. General background and historical information of the formation of New Zealand
Gondwana and its life forms
New Zealand's oldest known rocks are about 680 million years old and were once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. The sediment from these rocks eroded into the deep sea-basins, eventually hardened into rock, and then folded and was uplifted into mountains because of the plate tectonic movements of the Earth, forming part of the Rangitata landmass. (McKinnon, Bradley, & Kirkpatrick, 1997 p. 3).
Eighty million years ago the Rangitata landmass broke away from Gondwana and headed east on the Pacific Tectonic Plate. A fragment of this landmass eventually became New Zealand. As the landmass slowly drifted away, the Tasman Sea formed between the continents.
“About 26 million years ago the boundaries of Pacific and Indo-Australian Tectonic Plates ran through the New Zealand landmass, marked by the Hikurangi Trench and the Alpine Fault”