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Curio Bay
Curio Bay is a coastal embayment in the Southland District of New Zealand, best known as the site of a petrified forest some 180 million years old. It also hosts a yellow-eyed penguin colony, arguably the rarest of penguin species, with approximately 1600 breeding pairs in the extant population. The bay, along with neighbouring Porpoise Bay, is home to the endemic Hector's dolphin. Southern right whales are occasionally observed offshore, as on numerous parts of the country's coast. Located near the southernmost point of the South Island, Curio Bay is one of the major attractions in the Catlins, attracting around 100,000 visitors per year. The town of Waikawa has an information center for tourists. The now petrified logs, from ancient conifers closely related to modern kauri and Norfolk pine, were buried by ancient volcanic mud flows and gradually replaced by silica to produce the fossils now exposed by the sea. The fossilised forest grew at a time of semi-tropical clima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Catlins MC
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the Most common words in English, most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kauri
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for a number of extant Malesian ''Agathis''.de Laubenfels, David J. 1988. Coniferales. P. 337–453 in Flora Malesiana, Series I, Vol. 10. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Description Mature kauri trees have characteristically large trunks, with little or no branching below the crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they achieve maturity.Whitmore, T.C. 1977. ''A first look at Agathis''. Tropical Forestry Papers No. 11. University of Oxford Commonwealth Forestry Institute. The bark is smooth and light grey to grey-brown, usually peeling into irregular flakes that become thicker on more mature trees. The branch structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petrified Forests
Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction'' is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having been replaced by stone via a mineralization process that often includes permineralization and replacement. The organic materials making up cell walls have been replicated with minerals (mostly silica in the form of opal, chalcedony, or quartz). In some instances, the original structure of the stem tissue may be partially retained. Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried in water-saturated sediment or volcanic ash. The presence of water reduces the availability of oxygen which inhibits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Catlins
The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions. It includes the South Island's southernmost point, Slope Point. A rugged, sparsely populated area, the Catlins features a scenic coastal landscape and dense temperate rainforest, both of which harbour many endangered species of birds, most notably the rare yellow-eyed penguin. The coast attracts numerous marine mammals, among them New Zealand fur seals and Hooker's sea lions. In general terms the area enjoys a maritime temperate climate. Its exposed location leads to its frequently wild weather and heavy ocean swells, which are an attraction to big-wave surfers, and have also caused numerous shipwrecks. People have lived in the area since around 1350 AD. Prior to European settlement, the region was sparsely inhabited by nomadi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Formations Of New Zealand
Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales * Rock, Cornwall, a village in England * Rock, County Tyrone, a village in Northern Ireland * Rock, Devon, a location in England * Rock, Neath Port Talbot, a location in Wales * Rock, Northumberland, a village in England * Rock, Somerset, a location in Wales * Rock, West Sussex, a hamlet in Washington, England * Rock, Worcestershire, a village and civil parish in England United States * Rock, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Rock, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Rock, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Rock, Rock County, Wisconsin, a town in southern Wisconsin * Rock, Wood County, Wisconsin, a town in central Wisconsin Elsewhere * Corregidor, an island in the Philippines also known as "The Rock" * Jamaica, an isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Scenic Route
The Southern Scenic Route is a tourist highway in New Zealand linking Queenstown, Fiordland, Te Anau and the iconic Milford Road to Dunedin via, Riverton, Invercargill and The Catlins. An Australian travel magazine labelled it "one of the world's great undiscovered drives" in 2008. History and development The Southern Scenic Route concept and name were conceived at an informal gathering by Tuatapere residents John Fraser and Les Hutchins in November 1985 and confirmed at a public meeting in January 1986.Julie Walls (ed) ''Southern Scenic Route Visitor Publication'' 7ed, Focus Publications, Te Anau, November 2006 The promoters then negotiated with road and tourism authorities and local government. The project was a first for New Zealand and approval was a slow process. At one stage, traffic signs were installed in a clandestine operation. The Route opened officially on 6 November 1988, initially running between Te Anau in the west and Balclutha in the east. It was extende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bays Of Southland, New Zealand
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narrow entrance. A fjord is an elongated bay formed by glacial action. A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of the Susquehanna River. Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology. The land surrounding a bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves. Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches, which "are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore with a broad, flat fronting terrace".Maurice Schwartz, ''Encyclopedia of Coastal Science'' (2006), p. 129. Bays were sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesozoic Paleontological Sites Of Oceania
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian reptiles, like the dinosaurs; an abundance of conifers and ferns; a hot Greenhouse and icehouse earth, greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea. The Mesozoic is the middle of the three eras since Cambrian explosion, complex life evolved: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic. The era began in the wake of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest well-documented mass extinction in Earth's history, and ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, another mass extinction whose victims included the non-avian dinosaurs, Pterosaur, pterosaurs, Mosasaur, mosasaurs, and Plesiosaur, ples ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neville Peat
Neville Douglas Peat (born 1947) is a New Zealand author and photographer, based at Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula. He specialises in topics about natural history, notably that of southern New Zealand and New Zealand's subantarctic islands. He has written over 40 titles since the late 1970s and has been writing full-time since 1986. In 1994, Peat was named Dunedin Citizen of the Year for his series of photographic books on the city and his establishment of the Dunedin Environmental Business Network, and in 1996 won the Montana New Zealand Book Awards for his book ''Wild Dunedin''. He has been a Councillor on the Otago Regional Council since 1998, and was its Deputy Chairperson from 2004 to 2007. In 2004, Peat was behind moves to create an official flag for Otago. This culminated in a competition run through the auspices of the '' Otago Daily Times'' newspaper and Otago Polytechnic School of Art towards the end of that year. In 2007, Peat was awarded the Creative New Zea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Conservation (New Zealand)
The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) is provided to advise DOC and its ministers. In addition there are 15 conservation boards for different areas around the country that provide for interaction between DOC and the public. Function Overview The department was formed on 1 April 1987, as one of several reforms of the public service, when the ''Conservation Act 1987'' was passed to integrate some functions of the Department of Lands and Survey, the Forest Service and the Wildlife Service. This act also set out the majority of the department's responsibilities and roles. As a consequence of Conservation Act all Crown land in New Zealand designated for conservation and protection became managed by the Department of Conservation. This is about 30% of New Z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for Arecaceae, palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group. Cycads are gymnosperms (naked-seeded), meaning their fertilization, unfertilized seeds are open to the air to be directly fertilized by pollination, as contrasted with angiosperms, which have enclosed seeds with more complex fertilization arrangements. Cycads have very specialized pollinators, usually a specific species of beetle. Both male and female cycads bear cones (strobilus, strobili), somewhat similar to conife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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