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Story: Geology – overview

Greywacke forming at the edge of Gondwana

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Greywacke forming at the edge of Gondwana

This diagram is a reconstruction of how Torlesse greywacke and associated sediments formed at the edge of the Gondwana supercontinent. Rivers carried sediment from land out to sea on the continental shelf, where it was then transported down channels as turbidity currents onto huge submarine fans on the deep ocean floor.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Bruce Mahalski

Source: Glen Coates, The rise and fall of the Southern Alps. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2002

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, Geology – overview – Building a continent, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/8302/greywacke-forming-at-the-edge-of-gondwana (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney and Simon Nathan, published 2 March 2009.