MOEREKI BEACH AND BOULDERS MOEREKI NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND

ROB SKINKIS
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MOEREKI BEACH AND BOULDERS MOEREKI NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND
MOEREKI BEACH AND BOULDERS MOEREKI NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND

MOERAKI STONES MOERAKI BEACH, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND

1 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. They occur scattered either as isolated or clusters of boulders within a stretch of beach where they have been protected in a scientific reserve. These boulders are grey-colored septarian concretions, which have been exhumed from the mudstone and bedrock enclosing them and concentrated on the beach by coastal erosion. Especially in recent years, the boulders have been a popular tourist attraction.

2 A concretion is a hard, compact mass of matter formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles, and is found in sedimentary rock or soil. Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular shapes also occur. The word 'concretion' is derived from the Latin concretio "(act of) compacting, condensing, congealing, uniting", itself from con meaning 'together' and crescere meaning "to grow".[2] Concretions form within layers of sedimentary strata that have already been deposited. They usually form early in the burial history of the sediment, before the rest of the sediment is hardened into rock. This concretionary cement often makes the concretion harder and more resistant to weathering than the host stratum.

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Taken on: August 29, 2013
Sets appears in:   • 2013.08/09. NEW ZEALAND    • FOR DAVE AND ETHEL    more » • 13.09.13 MOEREKI BEACH NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND    • FARNE ISLAND BIRDS    • GENERAL SUBJECTS. Available on canvas etc    • ARCHITECTURE - Abstractions    • 2013.03 NEW ZEALAND    « less
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