Remains of a former ocean floor
by Jana Eichel, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
These limestone boulders characterize the landscape of Castle Hill Basin, located in the foothills of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Where do these massive, sometime castle-high blocks come from? 25 million years ago, the Pacific Plate collided with the Australian plate during the Kaikoura orogeny, giving birth not only to the Southern Alps but also lifting up thick limestone beds formed in shallow ocean water. Once the limestone was exposed to the atmosphere, weathering and erosion quickly ate it away and today only the scattered boulders of Castle Hill remain, serving not only as last witnesses to a former ocean floor but also as popular rock climbing spots.
Taken on 14
March
2017
Submitted on 23 January 2018
Winner in the EGU Photo Competition 2018
Categories
- Field (2630)
- Geodynamics (348)
- Geomorphology (1213)
- Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology (469)
- Tectonics and Structural Geology (518)
Location
- Oceania (211)
- Australia and New Zealand (198)
- New Zealand (115)
- Exact location (171.7111 E, -43.2326 S)
Tags
alps, limestone, new zealand, tectonics, rocks, sedimentary rocks
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Licence
Credit: Jana Eichel (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)
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