Gannet Island (New Zealand)

For other uses, see Gannet Island.
Gannet Island
Māori: Karewa

Aerial view of Gannet Island
Location of Gannet Island
Geography
Location Waikato Region
Coordinates 37°58′19″S 174°33′58″E / 37.97194°S 174.56611°E / -37.97194; 174.56611
Highest elevation 15 m (49 ft)
Country
Demographics
Population 0

Gannet Island (Karewa in Māori) is a small island some 19 kilometres (12 miles) offshore from Kawhia on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

Description

The island consists of the eroded remnant of a tuff ring, erupted about half a million years ago. It is considerably younger than, and compositionally distinct from, the nearby onshore Alexandra Volcanics (Mount Karioi and Mount Pirongia) and Okete Volcanics. It is located on the eastern edge of the North Taranaki Graben, rising 15 metres (49 ft) above sea level from a base about 65 metres (213 ft) deep.[1]

Gannets

Protected as a wildlife sanctuary,[2] it was found to be the country's largest single breeding colony of Australasian gannets in a 1980 census.[3] Holding about 8000 breeding pairs, the island has been identified as an Important Bird Area, by BirdLife International.[4]

Coordinates: 37°58′19″S 174°33′58″E / 37.97194°S 174.56611°E / -37.97194; 174.56611

See also

References

  1. ↑ R. M. Briggs, M. D. Rosenberg, P. J. de Lange, T. Itaya, P. R. King and R. C. Price. (1997). Geology and geochemistry of Gannet (Karewa) Island, Tasman Sea: a rift-related nephelinitic tuff ring, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 40, 263-272.
  2. ↑ Wildlife Sanctuary (Gannet Island) Order 1980
  3. ↑ Wodzicki, K .; Robertson, C. J. R.; Thompson, H. R.; and Alderton, C. J. T. (1984). The distribution and numbers of gannets (Sula serrator) in New Zealand. Notornis 31, 232-261.
  4. ↑ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gannet Island. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-16.

External links


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