Dunollie is a small

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

on the West Coast of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand, approximately 8 km from

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

. It is at an elevation of approximately 30 meters. Dunollie was a station on the Rewanui line railway. Coal deposits were discovered in the Paparoa Ranges.Bowen, "Paparoa Range", ''1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''

Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event

The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) extinction, was a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. Some 2 kilometers up the valley near the river bed and near the Moody Creek mine, a layer of rock was found where the formation of coal had abruptly ended some 66 million years ago. The top of the coal was coated with a thin layer of Iriduim and then there occurred a 40,000 year

Fern Spike In paleontology, a fern spike is the occurrence of unusually high spore abundance of ferns in the fossil record, usually immediately (in a geological sense) after an extinction event. The spikes are believed to represent a large, temporary incre ...

. This formation was key in proving the size, severity and the global nature of the Chixulub Impactor. The K–Pg extinction event was severe, global, rapid, and selective, eliminating a vast number of species. Based on marine fossils, it is estimated that 75% or more of all species were made extinct.

References

Populated places in the West Coast Region {{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub