Stirling Point, Bluff, Invercargill City, Southland Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Stirling Point | Point |
| Bluff | - not defined - |
| Invercargill City | City |
| Southland Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
46° 36' 47'' South , 168° 21' 26'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bluff | 1,938 (2011) | 2.3km |
| Invercargill | 47,287 (2011) | 23.7km |
| Woodlands | 285 (2011) | 31.1km |
| Wallacetown | 638 (2011) | 31.6km |
| Oban | 387 (2011) | 36.2km |
The southern terminus for State Highway 1. As such it is a local attraction, with lookout over the ocean. Of more interest is the rocks and fossils found in the immediate area.
Craig Bosel in his 1981 thesis named the new Tertiary strandline unit of the Foreaux Formation, containing fossils, thomsonite, gonnardite, chabazite, smectite and gibbsite.
The site is below the Foreaux walkway, 1.75 kilometres from the Stirling Point car park, and is steep and inaccessible. The unit is 6 metres thick, around 105 metres long, resting on a narrow joint controlled rock bench, 10 metres above sea level, to within a few metres above sea level at its western end. The unit is thought to go to no great depth into the hill.
The unit contains rounded gabbro boulders up to 2 metres across, in calcite cement, clay, and containing abundant zeolites. The matrix contains microclasts of mollusc, echinoderms, bryozoan, cirripeds, and benthic floraminifera fragments. Brachiopods are well preserved in the unit.
Chabazite is found as clear fractured penetrating twins and occasional single crystals. Gonnardite as sheaf like forms, silky white. Masses of platy small gypsum crystals are found associated with the zeolites, with clear edges and yellow centres. Thomsonite is said to occur rarely at the location.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ 'Chabazite' |
| ⓘ Gibbsite Formula: Al(OH)3 |
| ⓘ Gonnardite Formula: (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| ⓘ 'Smectite Group' Formula: A0.3D2-3[T4O10]Z2 · nH2O |
| ⓘ 'Thomsonite Subgroup' |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Gibbsite | 4.FE.10 | Al(OH)3 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Gonnardite | 9.GA.05 | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chabazite' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Smectite Group' | - | A0.3D2-3[T4O10]Z2 · nH2O |
| ⓘ | 'Thomsonite Subgroup' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Gibbsite | Al(OH)3 |
| H | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| H | ⓘ Smectite Group | A0.3D2-3[T4O10]Z2 · nH2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Gibbsite | Al(OH)3 |
| O | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Smectite Group | A0.3D2-3[T4O10]Z2 · nH2O |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Gibbsite | Al(OH)3 |
| Al | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Gonnardite | (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10 · 3H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australian Plate
- Murihiku TerraneAccretionary Complex
New Zealand
- South IslandIsland
Pacific OceanOcean
Pacific PlateTectonic Plate
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