What did Zealandia look like prior to sinking? What kind of landscape existed? These are interesting questions. For most of us, it is hard to visualise what it looked like, because modern-day New Zealand is so very different from Zealandia. The reason why is this: New Zealand as we know it is the product of vigorous plate collision over the past 20 million years. Our landscape has been highly modified since Zealandia.
Almost everywhere we look there is evidence of this collision. The flat plains are all very young, the product of floods of sediment derived from rapid erosion of rising mountainous hinterland. Or in the case of the central North Island, much of the flat land is in fact due to to smoothing of the the topography by thick volumes of volcanic ash. Most river and stream valleys in New Zealand are surprisingly freshly cut and actively cutting down.
The most obvious features are mountain ranges. Our rugged landscape is all about relentless deformation. The mountains have been and are being pushed up. And as they are pushed up, the rivers cut down and add extra relief to already high and steep topography..."
Lese gerade ein interessantes Buch und wollte diesen Auszug mit euch teilen.. :-)
Die Fotos sind (in der Reihenfolge) - Raglan Beach (North Island), Winter in Queenstown sowie Canterbury Plains (nahe Christchurch) auf der Südinsel .. alle persönlich aus dem Flugzeug aufgenommen. Faszinierendes Land !
Liebe Grüße
Elli
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