Talk on the remarkable geology on the Tora Coast

By Joe Howells

If you know what to look for in a geological sense, there are some remarkable things about our east coast at Tora. There is evidence for a giant submarine channel forming during the era of the dinosaurs, around 70 million years ago. A few million years later, at the end of the Cretaceous era we find the only global record of a giant tsunami crashing into the ancient New Zealand coast, a tsunami generated by the asteroid impact that is thought to have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. After this catastrophe, the rocks record dramatic climate swings as atmospheric CO₂ and global temperatures increased to levels comparable to the worst-case scenarios for present-day global warming.

Chris Hollis is an Adjunct Professor, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington. On Sunday 22^nd January Chris will give a talk about the geological significance of the Tora Coast at the Lion’s Hall 1 Oxford Street Martinborough, at 6pm. The entry fee is $5.00 donation to the Aorangi Restoration Trust at the door. 

​ By 2045, the Aorangi Restoration Trust aims to have restored the Aorangi Forest and its surrounds to the state where:

• The indigenous forest, coastal, and marine ecosystems are healthy,
• Its streams, rivers, and wetlands are clean and abundantly inhabited,
• There are ecosystem services that benefit the rural and urban economies of South Wairarapa and offer places for recreation for the wider Wellington region.

The Aorangi Trust welcomes volunteers to work on the predator trapping lines around the Aorangi Forest.

For further information or to book a spot at the talk please email or phone/text Joe Howells on: Email: Joe@greenjersey.co.nz; phone 027 597 2667.