Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Volcanic soil of New Zealand and erosion

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/soils

As mentioned earlier New Zealand has several active volcanoes. All the volcanic activity on the islands has had an effect on the soils of the nation, especially on the North Island. There are 15 types of soil that can be found in New Zealand. The most abundant being brown soil which covers about 43% of the nation. Pumice soils can be found in abundance on the North Island where past volcanic eruptions have thrown the volcanic residue all over. This can clearly be seen in a soil profile by the Desert Road on the North Island. Here you can see about 20,000 years of volcanic residue that has been incorporated into the soil.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12271/layers-of-volcanic-ash


New Zealand also sees the effects on many types of erosion. The most common type of erosion on the North Island are slips. Slips are the direct results of the change from forest to pasture on the North Island.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/53481773

Water erosion from the oceans have a massive effect on the nation of New Zealand and especially her citizens living near the shores. Many New Zealanders have built there homes on the beautiful cliffs that overlook the ocean. Unfortunately sometimes the cliff will collapse bringing the houses down with it.

http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/woman-falls-200m-down-cliff-2011101516