Some aspects of the cenozoic geology of the Moawhango River region, in the Army training area in Waiouru, North Island, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Quaternary Geology at Massey University
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Date
1994
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Massey University
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Abstract
Late Tertiary marine strata of the Waiouru Formation were unconformably deposited on a dissected Late Cretaceous peneplain surface of unusually high relief formed on Torlesse Supergroup greywacke at Waiouru. Central North Island, New Zealand. Waiouru is uniquely located on the southern boundary of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and the northern margin of the Wanganui Basin, an infilled Pliocene basin now subject to Plio-Pleistocene uplift. Two transgressive episodes are identified. The first involved submergence of the peneplain in the Neogene, when Kapitean mudstone was deposited. Then a general marine shallowing occurred around the New Zealand landmass which saw uplift of Waiouru towards the end of the Kapitean Stage, followed by a period of sub-aerial erosion. The second transgressive episode was initiated by subsidence of the Wanganui Basin in the Pliocene, which led to onlap of coarse shallow-water sandstones during the Opoitian Stage. Basement subsidence tended to result in vertical rather than horizontal migration of the shoreline. No evidence has been found for previously recognised eustatic sealevel cycles, due possibly to masking by strong tidal conditions throughout the Opoitian sequence; Waiouru being located on the northern edge of the Pliocene Kuripapango Strait. Eventually, shallow seas supported a faunal population sufficient to produce widespread carbonate skeletal fragments that formed extensive shell limestone beds at the top of the Waiouru Formation. Rapid lateral and vertical changes in the facies are interpreted as due to rapidly changing local depositional conditions. These were caused by the submerging basement initially forming a steep coast with at least two offshore islands. Marine infilling occurred within former incised river valleys 3 km wide and over 300 m in depth. Erosion of local greywacke contributed to the Opoitian sedimentation, as did a granitic source, probably in North-west Nelson, with materials transported from this latter source by currents propagating through the Kuripapango Strait. The presence of abundant granite-derived micas in Opoitian strata, yet their absence in the Kapitean strata provide a limiting age for the arrival of micas in Wanganui Basin strata. As the Wanganui Basin depocentre moved southwards, offlap and emergence occurred with Plio-Pleistocene uplift. The paleo-Moawhango River established its course in the newly uplifted strata, forming superimposed gorges where it cut into exposed basement. Except for initially deposited basal strata, dips in the Neogene marine strata are almost all uniformly consistent with the regional dip. Mapping of the shell limestone beds has shown post-Opoitian development of a small scale (<2 km wide) anticline and a minor associated fault. To the south of the study area, the Waipipian age Taihape Mudstone overlies the Waiouru Formation. The contact between the two is interpreted to be the Opoitian-Waipipian boundary and thus the Waiouru Formation was deposited within the Opoitian Stage.
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Cenozoic, Stratigraphic, New Zealand, Geology