Takaka Terrane
Description
The Tākaka Terrane has two main igneous units, the arc-related Devil River Volcanics Group (Middle to Late Cambrian) and the rift‐related Gendarme Dolerite (latest Cambrian to Early Ordovician age). The Devil River Volcanics Group sediments contain trilobites, brachiopods and conodonts. Sedimentary units in the Tākaka Terrane (Haupiri Group and Junction Formation rocks) likely formed in a back-arc basin. The distinctive Arthur Marble from Tākaka Hill and Mount Arthur is of Ordovician age. It has been speculated that the Tākaka Terrane is equivalent to rocks in Tasmania, Australia and was separated from them with the opening of the Tasman Sea.
The Arthur Marble has been chemically weathered by rain and groundwater due to its high calcium carbonate content forming a karst geomorphology. This has led to the formation of extensive cave systems like Harwoods Hole and the Riuwaka Resurgence.