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

Tectonic Plate effects in New Zealand

New Zealand rests on the fault between the Australian Plate and Pacific Plate. These active plates give New Zealand the mountain ranges that give it such natural beauty. This island nation is constantly being deformed by these plates pulling apart and pushing together. Some of the peaks in New Zealand are still growing and and the nation has many active volcanoes. These volcanic eruptions along with earthquakes and landslides are quite common on the island.

http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Our-Science/Earth-Science/Plate-Tectonics/NZ-plate-boundary

Becuase of these volcanic eruptions, young volcanic rock are not unusual on the island. The island nation is constantly growing from the formation of new rocks on top of the old sediments that rest just off the shores. The earthquakes which often shake the nation also do erode mountains and cause more debris to fall into the shallow seas off shore. These constant natural activities make New Zealand unstable but also contribute to its natural beauty. The nation is almost a throwback to ancient Earth where earthquakes and volcanoes where constantly reshaping the surface. This makes New Zealand like no other place on earth. New Zealand lies on what is known as the Ring of Fire. This is a circular area in the pacific where volcanoes are quite common and active.

Introduction

Who Am I?

My name is David Karady and I will be blogging about New Zealand. I chose this nation because of its natural and physical beauty. Not only does the island nation have beautiful beaches but also boasts majestic mountains. It has been my dream to visit what my geography professor in Illinois refereed to as "the most beautiful place in the world"

                                                       http://mostbeautifulplaces.org/natural-beauty-of-queenstown-new-zealand.html