Boulder Bank

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} [[File:Start of Boulder Bank.jpg|thumb|right|300px|{{centre|Start of the Boulder Bank at Mackay Bluff with Nelson in the distance}}]]

The '''Boulder Bank''' ([[Māori language|Māori]]: ''Te Taero a Keropa'' or ''Te Tāhuna o Tama-i-ea'') is a very unusual naturally formed landform in [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]], [[New Zealand]]. It is a {{Convert|13|km|abbr=on}} long stretch of [[Rock (geology)|rocky]] substrate which begins at the [[Mackay Bluff]] and ends at '''the Cut''' of the Nelson [[Harbour]]. [[Haulashore Island]] was once a part of the Boulder Bank, but the Cut made it an island, and it is no longer connected to the Boulder Bank. The Boulder Bank separates [[Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere|Tasman Bay]] and the [[Nelson Haven]] and is managed as a scenic reserve by the [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]]. Land access is gained along Boulder Bank Drive, signposted at the northern end of Nelson Haven on {{NZlSH|6}}.

==Geology and geography== The Boulder Bank is composed of [[granodiorite]].<ref name="Nelson Boulder Bank">{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/00288306.2001.9514924 | author=M.R. Johnston| title=Nelson Boulder Bank| journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics| year=2001| volume=44| pages=79–88| doi-access=free}}</ref> The source of this rock is Mackay Bluff. It is still debated what process or processes have resulted in this odd structure. [[Longshore drift]], however, is the most accepted hypothesis for creation. The main objection to longshore drift as the explanation is that Tasman Bay does not receive enough wave action to move the large boulders in a south-westerly direction. Studies have been conducted since 1892 to determine speed of boulder movement. Rates of the top course [[gravel]] movement have been estimated at {{convert|7.5|m|abbr=on}} a year.<ref name="Nelson Boulder Bank"/> [[Image:Boulder Bank Pano.jpg|thumb|centre|700px|Boulder Bank panorama from [[Kaka Hill]], December 2007]]

==The Cut== The Cut was made to enable the Nelson port to allow the increasing demands of sea transport for the [[Tasman, New Zealand|Tasman]] area. Construction started in 1903 and in 1905 a {{convert|61|m|abbr=on}} wide entrance was operational.<ref name="History & Natural History of the Boulder Bank. Nelson Haven">{{cite book | title=History & Natural History of the Boulder Bank. Nelson Haven| last=Cawthron Institute| year=1976| publisher=Cawthron Institute| location=Nelson, New Zealand}}</ref> Today the Cut is {{convert|150|m|abbr=on}} wide and [[Dredging|dredged]] every six months to maintain a depth of {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="History & Natural History of the Boulder Bank. Nelson Haven"/>

==Lighthouse== [[File:Nelson Lighthouse 002.jpg|thumb|upright|Boulder Bank Lighthouse was the country's second permanent lighthouse.]] The [[Boulder Bank Lighthouse]] was erected in 1862.<ref name="NZ's Lighthouse">{{Cite web |url= http://www.newzealandlighthouses.com/nelson_boulder_bank.htm |title=New Zealand Lighthouses |accessdate=1 December 2007 |year=2005 |first=Mark |last=Phillips}}</ref> It is located near the port end of the Boulder Bank and was New Zealand's second permanent lighthouse. It is registered with the [[New Zealand Historic Places Trust|Historic Places Trust]] as a category I structure with registration number 41.<ref name="NZHPT 41">{{NZHPT|41|Boulder Bank Lighthouse|24 April 2014}}</ref>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== * Hartstein, ND and Warren Dickinson, W (2005) [https://archive.today/20110813203214/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112605806/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Wave energy and clast transport in eastern Tasman Bay, New Zealand] ''[[Earth Surface Processes and Landforms]]'', 31:6 (703–714). * Warren, Karen. ''Rolling Stones: Nelson's Boulder Bank, Its Place in Our History and Hearts'', 320 pp, 2009, Nikau Press, Nelson, New Zealand.

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506055245/http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/WhakatuTribes/2/ENZ-Resources/Standard/1/en The story of the Boulder Bank] * [http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/MarineEnvironments/CoastalShoreline/1/ENZ-Resources/Standard/5/en The Nelson Boulder Bank]

{{Nelson, New Zealand|state=collapsed}} {{coord|-41.2344|173.2964|format=dms|region:NZ_type:landmark_dim:5000|display=title}}

[[Category:Spits of New Zealand]] [[Category:Geography of Nelson, New Zealand]] [[Category:Barrier islands]] [[Category:Landforms of the Nelson Region]] [[Category:Rock formations of New Zealand]]