The Learning Cafe

TeamGeo - Coastal Landforms

18 02 2008

Here are a couple of your mini research projects:

Sarah

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Ashley

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Kamylle

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Date : 18 February 2008
Categories : Year 13, coastal processes, student work, geography

One response to “TeamGeo - Coastal Landforms”

18 02 2008: Vanessa (12:03:24) :

Fiordland

In the past glaciers carved many deep fiords, the most famous in New
Zealand is the Milford Sound. Fiordlandâ€™s coast is steep and crenellated
with fiords that run from the valleys of the southern ranges of the
Southern Alps. These are very big with some peaks rising to over 2000
metres. This landscape was created by the ice age that created many
glaciers. These glaciers make the landscape very sharp and pointed as the
ice freezes the rock and breaks off large chunks.These are carried down
the glacier and dumped at the end of it creating a moraine. These moraines
can be recognized by the sharp pointed rocks that are quite large. These
moraines create a dam for the newly melted ice from the glacier making the
lakes of the Fiordland. Ice in the Fiords has also created two islands off
the shore. The most interesting part of this landscape is partly its
beauty which attracts many people to come and see the spectacular sights
but also the way in which it was formed many years ago. It teaches
scientists a lot about New Zealandâ€™s geological history. After the ice age
the climate started to warm up melting the ice. This raised the sea level
creating fiords where the glacier used to be. We know that these were
created by glaciers because the valleys are in a â€˜Vâ€™ shape. If water had
created these valleys they would be more rounded in a â€˜Uâ€™ shape.

Moeraki Boulders

The Moeraki boulders are very interesting because they are in an unusual
place. Situated along a sandy beach these large and spherical rocks (very
similar to septarian concretions) attract a lot of attention. Situated on
a beach at Moeraki called Koekohe beach, 40 kilometres south of Oamaru in
the South Island of New Zealand, these boulders were formed some 65
million years ago but only exposed around 15 million years ago. It was at
this time that the soft mudstone with the boulders inside was raised above
sea level to make a cliff. The water has then eroded the soft mudstone
leaving the boulders which are erosion resistant. The boulders are very
large ranging from 0.5 to 1 metre in diameter to 1.5 to 2.2 metres in
diameter.

The boulders took around 4 million years to form in a process where
calcium and carbonates where crystallized around charged particles in
muddy undersea sediments.
They consist of mud, fine silt, and clay cemented by calcite.