Geological Information in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand consists of two large is1ands--some 270,000 square kilometers in area--straddling a major crustal plate boundary. The present landscape is the highest part of a submerged subcontinent that broke away from Gondwana some 80 million years ago. To the northeast the Pacific oceanic plate is subducting westward, and to the southwest the Tasman seafloor is subducting eastward beneath the Campbell Plateau. These two subduction zones are linked through the transcurrent Alpine Fault. In the mid 19th Century two world-famous geologists contributed to the country's geological exploration. Hochstetter, from Austria, established a tradition of systematic geological mapping, and Hector, from Canada, founded the New Zealand Geological Survey. New Zealand's national geological organization, now the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (IGNS), continues to publish a broad spectrum of geological literature and maps. Its library holds the largest collection of geological literature pertaining to New Zealand. The six universities that teach geology and earth sciences each have library collections of a high standard. The University of Auckland Geology Collection is housed in the Science Library with an area that is a focal point for geological information and literature research.