Denniston Plateau
| Denniston Plateau | |
|---|---|
| Denniston-Stockton Plateau, Mount Rochfort Plateau | |
 View south to Mt Rochfort | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 600 m (2,000 ft)  |
| Coordinates | 41°44′47″S 171°47′59″E / 41.74639°S 171.79972°E |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Named after the coal mine manager |
| Geography | |
| Location | Buller District, West Coast Region, New Zealand |
| Parent range | Papahaua Range |
Denniston Plateau (technically the Denniston-Stockton Plateau) is an 18 km long, 600–800 m high
Physiography
The Denniston-Stockton Plateau stretches approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi), from Mt Rochfort near Westport in the south to Granity in the north. It is about 3–4 kilometres (1.9–2.5 mi) wide, and 600–800 metres (2,000–2,600 ft) above sea level, lower at its northern (Millerton) and southern (Denniston) extents, and highest in the middle towards Mount Frederick.[1] It is bisected by the Waimangaroa River into Denniston and Stockton plateaus, which are sometimes referred to individually, though the term "Denniston Plateau" is often used to refer to the entire landform and ecosystem.
Geology
The main rock on the surface of the plateau is sandstone, which has eroded into coarse and acidic silica sand.[1] It is sometimes referred to as the "Buller Coal Plateau",[2] because beneath the sandstone are rich seams of high-quality bituminous coal, laid down in swamps 45 million years ago. Partly-decayed plant material was compressed into peat 42–45 million years ago, then covered over by encroaching ocean and rock, and compressed once again under the ocean into coal 37 million years ago.[1] The plateau was raised to its current altitude within the last 2 million years as part of the rapidly-rising Southern Alps.[1]
The soil on the plateau is thin at best, often infertile and low in organic matter, poorly drained, and acidic; miners in Denniston had to bring all the soil required to create their flower gardens and bowling green up the
Climate
The plateau has a harsh climate: high rainfall, low sunshine hours, cold, wind, and often mist.[3]
Flora
The vegetation of the plateau appears sparse and scrubby, but this is a consequence of the harsh climate and poor soils: there is a high diversity of plant species, and some of the bonsai-like small shrubs are hundreds of years old.[4] The plateau includes alpine plants found at unusually low altitudes and several localised or endemic plants.[1]
In more sheltered areas and better soils, the vegetation is a low forest consisting of
Some distinctive species include:
- Dracophyllum townsonii, restricted to the northern West Coast, and D. densum, found mostly on Denniston Plateau and the Paparoa Range nearby
- Four species of Celmisia daisies that reach their southern limit here or in the Paparoas: mountain daisy (C. dubia), scrub daisy (C. lateralis), Dall's mountain daisy (C. dalii), and C. similus.
- North Westland snow tussock (Chionochloa juncea), found only on the Denniston-Stockton Plateau
Fauna
The plateau has
Several species of large carnivorous Powelliphanta snail are found on the plateau, and some are endemic to it and threatened by mining.[1]
- Powelliphanta patrickensis, found only on coalfields over 750 m between Denniston and Mt Rochfort and in the Millerton area
- Powelliphanta lignaria 'Millerton', found only on a few hectares near Millerton, thought to be extinct, and rediscovered in 2005
- Powelliphanta augusta, whose 5 ha of habitat on Mount Augustus was destroyed by the mining company Solid Energy. The entire known population was taken into captivity in refrigerated shipping containers in 2006. Attempted reintroductions in the Stockton area were unsuccessful, and most of the population remains captive, cared for by the Department of Conservation.[5]
In response to a proposed open-cast coal mine, 150 scientists and volunteers conducted a weekend "bio-blitz" on the plateau in March 2012 and discovered several new species:[6]
- a nationally critically endangered day-flying moth, Arctesthes avatar, described in 2019 and named after the movie Avatar, whose plot concerns a mining company destroying a pristine environment[7][8]
- a cave weta, informally dubbed the Denniston white-faced weta[9][10]
- a beetle, another moth, a wingless wasp, and three spiders[11]
Conservation
The northern part of the plateau has been heavily modified by Solid Energy's large
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-927145-42-5.
- ^ a b c Lusk, Peter (1 December 2012). "Aura of Denniston Plateau under threat". Wilderness Magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Nature and conservation in the Denniston Plateau". Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b Warne, Kennedy (July–August 2012). "The Black and the Green". New Zealand Geographic. 116.
- ^ Mitchell, Charlie (August 2018). "What Happened Here: When NZ chose money over its environment". Stuff. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Cairns, Lois (3 March 2012). "Forest and Bird 'bio-blitzes' Denniston plateau". Stuff. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- .
- ^ Hoare, R.J.B.; Dugdale, J.S.; Edwards, E.D.; Gibbs, G.W.; Patrick, B.H.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Rolfe, J.R. (2015). "Conservation status of New Zealand butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera)" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 20: 1–13.
- ^ "Mine a potential threat to new cave weta - lobbyist". RNZ. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "New species of cave weta discovered on West Coast". New Zealand Herald. 30 November 2012.
- ^ Lee, Francesca (19 June 2012). "Hollywood name for new moth species". Stuff. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b Hartley, Simon (15 March 2016). "Bathurst suspends mining operations at Denniston". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Bathurst to begin mining on Denniston Plateau". TVNZ. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
External links
Media related to Denniston Plateau at Wikimedia Commons