What has happened to the Moeraki Boulders?
According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed ashore from the great voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand hundreds of years ago.
Where are the Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand?
Otago
The Moeraki Boulders (officially Moeraki Boulders / Kaihinaki) are unusually large spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave-cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden.
Why is Moeraki Boulders famous?
Moeraki is now most famous for its boulders; mysteriously spherical stones scattered across a beach. Each boulder weighs several tonnes and is up to two metres high. Scientists explain the boulders as calcite concretions formed about 65 million years ago.
How did the Moeraki Boulders get there?
According to Maori legend, the boulders are what is left of a shipwrecked canoe called the Araiteuru. After the Araiteuru came into trouble at Shag Point – also know as Matakaea – it’s said that calabashes, kumaras and eel baskets were washed ashore and over time, formed the large boulders you see today.
What are boulders in the ocean called?
Jetties. Jetties are large, man-made piles of boulders or concrete that are built on either side of a coastal inlet. Whereas groins are built to change the effects of beach erosion, jetties are built so that a channel to the ocean will stay open for navigation purposes.
Why are boulders round?
One major cause of round boulders is glacial movement. As massive glaciers slowly made their way across the continent during an ice age, they transported and weathered boulders and other rocks with them. Kafka Granite’s boulders, cobbles, and most of our pebbles are all glacially deposited.
What do Moeraki Boulders look like?
The boulders are grey-coloured septarian concretions, which have been eroded out by wave action from the cliffs of soft, black mudstone that back the beach. In places, partially exposed concretions can be seen in the cliffs.
What does moeraki mean in English?
The name Moeraki (Moerangi) means “drowsy day”.
What are rocks on the beach called?
Some beach berms are not sandy at all. They are covered with flat pebbles called shingles or rounded rocks known as cobbles.
Where do big boulders come from?
The water would freeze and expand, causing the rocks to crack. This process is known as mechanical weathering. The downward slope of the region combined with the melting permafrost underneath resulted in the movement of the rocks downward, or mass wasting, to create Boulder Field.
How do boulders become sand?
Sand forms when rocks break down from weathering and eroding over thousands and even millions of years. Rocks take time to decompose, especially quartz (silica) and feldspar. Once they make it to the ocean, they further erode from the constant action of waves and tides.
What are Moeraki Boulders made of?