Volcano Road Quarry, Red Hill, Wairarapa, Wellington Region, North Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 41° 4' 18'' South , 175° 56' 28'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -41.07189,175.94139 |
| KΓΆppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
| Other/historical region names associated with this locality: | Ngahape |
Forestry roading material quarry in highly weathered teschenite and basalt, and part of a large and techtonically uplifted seamount. Teschenite is the key matrix rock, with all other minerals being secondary. Remains of several volcanic pipes have been found.
Various sceptres of quartz and calcite can be found at the micro level in this location, including unusual dipyramidal quartz diamonds. This is a privately owned forest with no public access. Collecting as per arranged field trips of the Wellington mineral and rock club.
(Wellman 1970) describes it as a circular teschenite intrusion in the Brocken Range suggesting it is possibly an eroded volcanic plug. He states attractive hand specimens of agate and quartz after calcite can be commonly found in the Kaiwhata Stream.
(Hutton, 1942) studied in detail several rocks from Red Hill, collected shortly before by D.A. Brown. Species described include a diopsidic type of clinopyroxene and augite; sheaf like aggregates of colourless thomsonite as sharp acicular needles, associated with minor natrolite; an amorphous green-blue to rusty brown hydrated silicate of magnesium and iron infilling amygdales; plagioclase with intrusions of apatite, biotite, and hematite; irregular aggregates of bowlingite; sphene with no details; analcime plentiful in thin sections; abundant ilmentite-hematite; pale yellow apatite needles, and calcite.
Quartz and pale amethyst crystals can be found in the Little Kaiwhata Stream that drains Red Mountain. The crystals are surrounded by a white to pale pink material, changing to an orange colour in acid, suggested as either calcite or more likely dolomite. Red coloured heulandite, manganese oxides, greenockite, and celadonite are also noted as found.
Mineral List
16 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
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Alphabetical List Tree DiagramRegional Geology
This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.
Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org
| Cretaceous 66 - 145 Ma ID: 3186880 | Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks Age: Cretaceous (66 - 145 Ma) Lithology: Flow(s); mafic volcanic rocks; spilite; argillite,siltstone,conglomerate,greensand,sandstone,shale Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154] |
| Cenomanian - Aptian 93.9 - 125 Ma ID: 1319395 | Mangapokia Formation sandstone (Pahaoa Group) Age: Cretaceous (93.9 - 125 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Mangapokia Formation Description: Highly deformed alternating sandstone and mudstone. Comments: Basement (Eastern Province) sedimentary rocks. Age based on micropaleontology macropaleontology Lithology: Major:: {sandstone},Minor:: {mudstone, argillite, conglomerate, basalt, boninite} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
| Early Cretaceous 100.5 - 145 Ma ID: 1310751 | Pahaoa Group Age: Early Cretaceous (100.5 - 145 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Pahaoa Group Description: Sandstone and mudstone with minor conglomerate, chert and spilitic volcanics. Comments: Eastern Province (Torlesse Composite Terrane) Rocks Lithology: Sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate, chert, spilite Reference: Edbrooke, S.W., Heron, D.W., Forsyth, P.J., Jongens, R. (compilers). Geology Map of New Zealand 1:1 000 000. GNS Science Geological Map 2. [12] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
External Links
Volcano Road Quarry, Red Hill, Wairarapa, Wellington Region, North Island, New Zealand