Banks Peninsula
The Banks Peninsula
is a remarkable geological formation that results from the merger of two ancient
volcanic islands, now joined to the mainland as a result of the formation of
the Canterbury Plain, on which Christchurch is located. The Plain is mostly
gravel washed down over a very long time from the Southern Alps, the backbone
of South Island, by many rivers. The ancient volcanic craters were invaded by
the sea and now form Lyttleton and Akaroa Harbours. Christchurch has a beach
(New Brighton) but no harbour of its own, so Lyttleton has served that role
from the earliest settlement of Christchurch in the 1840's. Akaroa was settled
by the French, but word of their impending arrival reached the British settlers
in Canterbury, who got there first and planted the British flag.
Click one of the following links to see the pictures.
| Home | Family | New
Zealand |
David A. Smith
<das@math.duke.edu>
Last modified: August 19, 2001