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Pakoka River
The Pakoka River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows southwest from its source southeast of Raglan to reach the northeastern end of the Aotea Harbour. The catchment is made up of just over of waterways. Geology The most notable features of the Pakoka valley were formed by Upper Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene Okete Volcanics about 2 million years ago. These rocks form the top of the Wharauroa Plateau, where the Pakoka rises. They also flowed down from a vent about a kilometre northwest of Bridal Veil Falls to block the valley and form the falls. From its source the river soon drops about , cutting into Coleman Conglomerate a Puaroan (in the Tithonian epoch, about 150 million years ago) poorly sorted conglomerate of sandstone and siltstone, containing andesitic pebbles up to in diameter. A rock arch and several notable bluffs are formed of late Whaingaroan Ahirau Sandstone formed about 28 million years ago. Although classified as sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aotea Harbour
Aotea Harbour ( mi, Aotea Moana) is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the south, 30 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. Geography Aotea Harbour is a ria, drowned valley system following the post glacial Aranuian sea level rise of over 100m in the last 14,000 years, but its level may also be influenced by the Makomako and Te Maari faults. It has a high-tide area of and a low-tide area of . Most higher ground around the harbour is formed from Jurassic era graywacke stone, while the Aotea Harbour north head were formed from Quaternary marine deposits, Aeolian processes, wind blown north-east from the Tasman Sea. 54% of the area around the harbour is in sheep and beef grazing. Since 1850 native forest cover has declined from 98% to 28%, about 18% managed by the Department of Conservation. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. However, in regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered (perhaps by debris) or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and can be totally missing above ground. The study of ''paleokarst'' (buried karst in the stratigraphic column) is important in petroleum geology because as much as 50% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are hosted in carbonate rock, and much of this is found in porous karst systems. Etymology The English word ''karst'' was borrowed from German in the late 19th century, which entered German much earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolboschoenus Fluviatilis
''Bolboschoenus fluviatilis'', the river bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Its range includes Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Canada, the United States, and northeastern Mexico. ''B. fluviatilis'' and its fruits are important as food sources for waterfowl such as geese, ducks, bitterns, and swans. It also provides cover and nesting sites for these and other species of birds, as well as small mammals. Like other Bolboschoenus species, ''B. fluviatilis'' has strong tubers and rhizomes which help to stabilize intertidal habitats by preventing erosion. Habitat River bulrush can be found in fresh water or brackish water marshes, and in the quiet waters of streams and lakes. It has been shown to propagate and flourish in a wide variety of water depths, but produces the most biomass in shallowly flooded conditions. ''B. fluviatilis'', and other bulrush species, are threatened by pollution, habitat destruction, and competition from invas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plagianthus Divaricatus
''Plagianthus divaricatus'' or saltmarsh ribbonwood is a plant that is endemic to New Zealand. The Māori name is makaka. ''Plagianthus divaricatus'' is an upright shrub with closely interwoven branches. The shrub is found in coastal environments in areas with salt swamp, sandy banks and throughout estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen .... References Malveae Flora of New Zealand {{Malveae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apodasmia Similis
''Apodasmia similis'', also known as oioi or jointed wire rush, is a plant that is endemic to New Zealand. It is a coastal plant but is also found around peat bogs and hot springs. It flowers from October to December and bears fruit from December to March. Importance ''Apodasmia similis'', along with ''Empodisma minus'', are the respective host plants of the two species of leafhoppers, '' Paracephaleus hudsoni'' and '' Paracephaleus curtus'', native to New Zealand. See also *Wetlands of New Zealand New Zealand has several notable wetlands but 90% of wetland areas have been lost following European settlement. The Resource Management Act 1991, the major Act of Parliament determining land use, defines wetlands as "permanently or intermittent ... References External linksOioiat Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand''Apodasmia similis''at the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network Flora of New Zealand Restionaceae Taxa named by Barbara G. Briggs Taxa named b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spartina
''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north-western and southern Africa, the Americas and the islands of the southern Atlantic Ocean; one or two species also occur on the western coast of North America and in freshwater habitats inland in the Americas. The highest species diversity is on the east coasts of North and South America, particularly Florida. They form large, often dense colonies, particularly on coastal salt marshes, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will produce hybrids if they come into contact. Taxonomy In 2014, the taxon ''Spartina'' was subsumed into the genus ''Sporobolus'' and reassigned to the taxonomic status of section,Peterson, PM, et al (2014) A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification of ''Sporo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunzea Ericoides
''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka, kanuka, white tea-tree or burgan, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of ''Leptospermum'' and from its first formal description in 1832 until 1983 was known as ''Leptospermum ericoides''. The flowers have five petals and up to 25 stamens which are mostly longer than the petals. Description ''Kunzea ericoides'' is a spreading shrub or tree, sometimes growing to a height of with bark which peels in long strips and young branches which tend to droop. The leaves are variable in shape from linear to narrow elliptic or lance-shaped, long and wide with a petiole up to long. The flowers are white or pale pink, crowded on side branches or in the axils of upper leaves. The floral cup is covered with soft, downy hairs and is on a pedicel long. There are five triangular sepals about long and five petals about long. There are up to 25 stamens w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dodonaea Viscosa
''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia. ''Dodonaea'' is part of Sapindaceae, the soapberry family. This species is notable for its extremely wide distribution, which it achieved only over the last 2 million years (from its region of origin in Australia) via oceanic dispersal. Harrington and Gadek (2009) referred to ''D. viscosa'' as having "a distribution equal to some world’s greatest transoceanic dispersers". Common names The common name hopbush is used for ''D. viscosa'' specifically and also for the genus as a whole. In the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, this plant is called ''virāli'' (விராலி). Australian common names include: broad leaf hopbush, candlewood, giant hopbush, narrow leaf hopbush, sticky hopbus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotless Crake
The spotless crake (''Zapornia tabuensis'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is widely distributed species occurring from the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia, across the southern Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands and south to New Zealand. Taxonomy The spotless crake was Species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other crakes and rails in the genus ''Rallus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Rallus tabuensis''. Gmelin's account is taken from that of the "Tabuan rail" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham's description was probably based on a plate painted by the German naturalist Georg Forster who had accompanied the British explorer James Cook on his Second voyage o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Fernbird
The New Zealand fernbird or simply fernbird (''Poodytes punctatus'') is an insectivorous bird endemic to New Zealand. In the Māori language, it is named or . Taxonomy The New Zealand fernbird was described by the French zoologists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard in 1832 from a specimen collected in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, South Island, New Zealand. They coined the binomial name, ''Synallaxis punctata''. In the past, this species had the binomial name ''Megalurus punctatus.'' There are five subspecies present on different islands. They differ in extent of reddish-brown and intensity of streaking, as well as size: * ''P. p. vealeae'' (Kemp, R, 1912) – North Island (New Zealand) * ''P. p. punctatus'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) – South Island (New Zealand) * ''P. p. stewartianus'' ( Oliver, 1930) – Stewart Island (New Zealand) * ''P. p. wilsoni'' ( Stead, 1936) – Codfish Island (=Whenua Hou, west of Stewart Island, New Zealand) * ''P. p. caudatus'' ( Buller, 1894) – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldspars and the ''alkali'' (potassium-sodium) feldspars. Feldspars make up about 60% of the Earth's crust, and 41% of the Earth's continental crust by weight. Feldspars crystalize from magma as both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock. Rock formed almost entirely of calcic plagioclase feldspar is known as anorthosite. Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rocks. Compositions The feldspar group of minerals consists of tectosilicates, silicate minerals in which silicon ions are linked by shared oxygen ions to form a three-dimensional network. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers: * potassium feldspar (K-spar) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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