Thursday, January 12, 2012

9 January 2012: Punakaiki’s pancake rocks

After sitting in the van for nearly 2 hours, we reached our destination of Punakaiki’s pancake rocks.  This geological formation sits on the west coast’s shoreline and is the product of millions of years of sediment accumulation, uplifting due to tectonic plate activity and erosion by the Tasman Sea.  The result: rocks that take on an appearance very similar to lots and lots of pancakes stacked upon one another!  The formation reminds me of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, at least what I’ve seen in pictures!  Along the path from the road to the shore, we were able to see some wildlife: a Weka foraging and a few Tui calling.  Very cool experience overall!


Dr. Moran and Joe Santangelo (Business) look out over the 'pancake rocks' at Punakaiki.

Punakaiki's 'pancake rocks'.  Notice the layers in the rocks!

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