Geology of the Pirongia Volcano, Waikato
Maker
1. Oliver McLeod
2. Geoscience Society of New Zealand
3. A. Pittari
4. M. Brenna
5. R. M. Briggs
Production date
2020
Description
This full colour 1:30,000 map and accompanying 58-page text provides a detailed account of the entire geological history of the Pirongia Volcano spanning from 2.6 million years ago until the present day. It is the most complete work on this volcanic terrain to date, and firmly establishes the Pirongia Volcano as a significant part of the New Zealand volcanic history.
Mount Pirongia of Waikato is one of the last unexplored, unmapped volcanoes in New Zealand. The jagged buttressed peaks, now covered by native forest, form the remnant of North Island's largest basaltic volcano, which began erupting in the late Pliocene and continued well into Pleistocene times. Volcanism was driven by subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Australian Plate, which induced crustal extension and faulting in the western North Island. Over a period of one million years, the Pirongia Volcano established a prominent basaltic lava shield that was later surmounted by numerous volcanic cones, each constructed above a separate vent source. The active volcanic period was interceded by several massive collapse events that redistributed parts of the mountain into the surrounding ring plain.
The basaltic lavas of Pirongia - and its sister volcanoes Karioi, Kakepuku and Te Kawa - are unique among the New Zealand volcanoes because they are extremely crystal-rich, drawing comparison to the famous volcanic island chains of Tahiti and Hawaii.
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Object detail
1.2: 820 x 1160mm
1.3: 820 x 1160mm
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