Kokoamu Greensand

The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The formation was named by geologist Maxwell Gage in the 1950s. In North Otago it underlies the thicker and harder Otekaike Limestone. The formation gets its green colour from the mineral glauconite which forms slowly on the ocean floor.

Kokoamu Greensand
Stratigraphic range: Chattian
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TypeGeological formation
Unit ofOtiake Group
UnderliesOtekaike Limestone
OverliesEarthquakes Marl
Thicknessup to 7 metres (20 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryGreensand
OtherLimestone
Location
Coordinates44.7°S 170.5°E / -44.7; 170.5
Approximate paleocoordinates50.5°S 176.3°W / -50.5; -176.3
RegionCanterbury, Otago
CountryNew Zealand
ExtentAround Duntroon, South Island
Kokoamu Greensand (New Zealand)
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