The Panmure Basin (traditionally known in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

as Kaiahiku or Te Kopua Kai-a-Hiku), also sometimes known as the Panmure Lagoon, is a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

within a

volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an ...

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

in New Zealand's

Auckland volcanic field The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a divers ...

. It is located to the south of Panmure town centre.

Geology

The volcano erupted approximately 25,200 years ago. During the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered m ...

, the basin was a freshwater lake. When sea-levels rose, the estuarine waters of the

Tāmaki River The Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary is mostly an estuarial arm and harbour of the Hauraki Gulf, within the city of Auckland in New Zealand.

breached the lake, turning it into a tidal estuary. A small scoria cone is found in the centre of the basin, obscured by layers of mud.

History

The traditional name of the basin was Te Kai a Hiku. It features in traditional

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M� ...

stories as the eating place of the

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respecte ...

Moko-ika-hiku-waru. The headland between the basin and the Tāmaki River was the location of the

Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki Gulf islands ...

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

Mauināina (also known as Maunga-inaina and Taumata-inaina). In February 2008, scientists announced that drilling had discovered a scoria cone buried within the mud filling the explosion crater. Although newspaper journalists inferred that the discovered scoria cone was a much younger and different volcano from Panmure Basin, geologists consider that the scoria cone was produced as the second phase of the eruption of Panmure Basin explosion crater and tuff ring. The explosive phase was produced by the interaction of the magma with cold groundwater but once the water was used up the eruption switched to a dry phase of fire-fountaining producing the scoria cone from the same vent.Hayward, B.W., Murdoch, G., Maitland, G. 2011. ''Volcanoes of Auckland: The essential guide.'' Auckland University Press. Thus Panmure Basin is no different from a number of other volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field, such as the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. Consisting of of land, Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, New Zealand, Grafton, the ...

Volcano, Māngere Lagoon Volcano, Waitomokia, Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta and

Crater Hill Crater Hill is one of the volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, in New Zealand. It consists of an explosion crater about wide, partly filled with water. The hill, alongside Māngere Lagoon, Waitomokia, Kohuora Kohuora, located in the ...

(each with one or more scoria cones inside their explosion crater), except that Panmure Basin's small central scoria cone was buried.

References

External links

Photographs of Panmure Basin
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
Photographs of Panmure Basin
held in

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

's heritage collections. {{Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Area Auckland volcanic field Coastline of New Zealand Maars of New Zealand Estuaries of the Auckland Region Volcanoes of the Auckland Region Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Area Tāmaki River

Geology

History

See also

References

External links