Story: Wellington region

Belmont Peneplain

Belmont Peneplain

These flat-topped hills (foreground) in Belmont Regional Park are known to geologists as a peneplain or ‘K Surface’ – after Mt Kaukau, a city landmark. They are a feature of the landscape on the western side of the Wellington Fault. In the distance is the sharper outline of the Tararua Range. While the peneplain and the Tararua Range are made of the same greywacke rock, the ranges have been uplifted more rapidly than the hills.

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Photograph by Chris Maclean

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How to cite this page:

Chris Maclean, 'Wellington region - Creation stories and landscape', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/13177/belmont-peneplain (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Chris Maclean, updated 1 Aug 2015