page_title: Geology of New Zealand
section_title: History of New Zealand geology
hierarchical_section_title: Geology of New Zealand / History of New Zealand geology
caption_attribution_description: A map of the Auckland Volcanic Field by Ferdinand von Hochstetter, 1864. Originally published in Geologisch-topographischer Atlas von Neu-Seeland (Hochstetter and Petermann, 1863), and republished in English in 1864.
context_page_description: The geology of New Zealand is noted for its volcanic activity, earthquakes and geothermal areas because of its position on the boundary of the Australian Plate and Pacific Plates. New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that broke away from the Gondwanan supercontinent about 83 million years ago. New Zealand's early separation from other landmasses and subsequent evolution have created a unique fossil record and modern ecology.
  New Zealand's geology can be simplified into three phases. First the basement rocks of New Zealand formed. These rocks were once part of the super-continent of Gondwana, along with South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia. The rocks that now form the, mostly submerged, continent of Zealandia were then nestled between Eastern Australia and Western Antarctica. Secondly New Zealand drifted away from Gondwana and many sedimentary basins formed, which later became the sedimentary rocks covering the geological basement. The final phase is represented by the uplift of the Southern Alps and the eruptions of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.
context_section_description: The detailed study of New Zealand's geology began with Julius von Haast and Ferdinand von Hochstetter who created numerous regional geological maps of the country during resource exploration in the mid-late 1800s. In 1865 James Hector was appointed to found the Geological Survey of New Zealand. Patrick Marshall coined the terms andesite line and ignimbrite in the early 1900s while working in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Harold Wellman discovered the Alpine Fault and its 480 km offset in 1941. Even though Wellman proved that large block of land could move consid erable distances the New Zealand geological survey was largely a late adopter of plate tectonics.
  Charles Cotton became an international authority on geomorphology using New Zealand active tectonics and variable climate to create universally applicably rules. His major works becoming standard text books in New Zealand and overseas. Charles Fleming established the Wanganui Basin as a classic site for studying past sea levels and climates. In 1975 the palaeontologist Joan Wiffen discovered the first dinosaur fossils in New Zealand.
  The Geological Survey of New Zealand now known as GNS Science has done extensive mapping through New Zealand at 1:250,000 and 1:50:000 scales. The most modern map series are the "QMAPs" at 1:250,000. New Zealand's geological research is published by GNS Science, in the New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, and internationally. A Map showing the distribution of earthquakes in New Zealand can be obtained from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Current earthquake and volcanic activity can be obtained from the GeoNet website. The universities of Auckland, Canterbury, Massey, Otago, Victoria and Waikato are activity engaged in geological research in New Zealand, Antarctica, the wider South Pacific and elsewhere.
caption: Hochstetter's map of the Auckland volcanic field (1859).
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