18-400: The Sugar Loaf Islands (often Sugarloaf ; Māori : Ngā Motu , lit. ' the islands ' ) are a collection of five small uninhabited islands and several sea stacks near Port Taranaki , New Zealand. The largest, Moturoa Island , covers approximately 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres). Motumahanga is the island farthest from shore, at approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles). Ngā Motu
36-406: A capstone . (Cliffs with weaker rock, such as claystone or highly jointed rock, tend to slump and erode too quickly to form stacks, while harder rocks such as granite erode in different ways.) The formation process usually begins when the sea attacks lines of weakness, such as steep joints or small fault zones in a cliff face. These cracks then gradually get larger and turn into caves. If
54-478: A porphyritic hornblende andesite . Volcanic activity in Taranaki subsequently shifted to Kaitake (580,000 years ago), then migrated southeast to Pouakai (230,000 years ago) and the current centre of activity, Taranaki (last erupted in 1755). The Sugar Loaf Islands are the type locality of taranakite , a phosphate mineral that forms from the reaction of bird guano with the aluminous rocks comprising
72-487: A cave wears through a headland, an arch forms. Further erosion causes the arch to collapse, leaving the pillar of hard rock standing away from the coast, the stack. Eventually, erosion will cause the stack to collapse, leaving a stump. This stump usually forms a small rock island, low enough for a high tide to submerge. Port Taranaki Port Taranaki is a port complex located in New Plymouth , New Zealand . It
90-605: A vegetated stack and two barren rocks, and Tokomapuna ( Barrett Reef ). Mikotahi was formerly a tidal island , with a historic pā . In 1865 the Alpha well was drilled near Mikotahi. This was the first oil well in what is now the Commonwealth and one of the first in the world. The earth works to reclaim land for the New Plymouth Power Station reduced the island's size and permanently connected it to
108-413: Is eroded by hydraulic action , which is the force of the sea or water crashing against the rock. The force of the water weakens cracks in the headland, causing them to later collapse, forming free-standing stacks and even a small island. Without the constant presence of water, stacks also form when a natural arch collapses under gravity , due to sub-aerial processes like wind erosion . Erosion causes
126-590: Is the only deep water port on the west coast of New Zealand, and is owned by the Taranaki Regional Council . The port handles a wide range of coastal and international cargoes, mostly relating to the farming, engineering and petrochemical industries. Adjacent features include the city of New Plymouth , the New Plymouth Power Station and the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA). The port
144-572: The 1,404-hectare (3,470-acre) Tapuae Marine Reserve was established adjacent to the Sugar Loaf Island Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA). The Sugar Loaf Islands, along with onshore pinnacles such as Paritutu (153 m (502 ft)), represent the oldest volcanic activity on the Taranaki peninsula. Dating between 1.7 and 1.74 million years of age, the islands are believed to be the remains of a ring fracture or feeders to eroded volcanic vents , and are composed of
162-472: The Sugar Loaf Islands was protected as a marine park. Concern over oil exploration led to strengthening of the protection, through the enacting of the 1991 Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park Act . An area of 752.5 hectares (1,859 acres), including 5.3 hectares (13 acres) of land, encompassing the islands and surrounding seabed and ocean spanning from Port Taranaki in the north to Herekawe Stream in
180-647: The arch to collapse, leaving the pillar of hard rock standing away from the coast—the stack. Eventually, erosion will cause the stack to collapse, leaving a stump. Stacks can provide important nesting locations for seabirds , and many are popular for rock climbing . Isolated steep-sided, rocky oceanic islets typically of volcanic origin, are also loosely called "stacks" or "volcanic stacks". Stacks typically form in horizontally bedded sedimentary or volcanic rocks , particularly on limestone cliffs. The medium hardness of these rocks means medium resistance to abrasive and attritive erosion . A more resistant layer may form
198-507: The hope to connect the islands to Mikotahi and the growing port at Moturoa. After this was abandoned focus turned to mining Paritutu . The appearance of the two islands was changed greatly as a result of this work. Mataora, Motu-o-Tamatea, Moturoa Island, and Mikotahi were hunting, fishing and gathering grounds and places of refuge for local inhabitants and the Taranaki and Te Āti Awa for hundreds of years. In 1986, an area encompassing
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#1732791538412216-464: The islands. This was the first new mineral species to be discovered in New Zealand. Sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion . Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. They are formed when part of a headland
234-433: The mainland at low tides as a tombolo , as does Motuotamatea on very low spring tides . Pararaki is separated from Mataora by a 20 meter wide channel. The outer islands comprise Motumahanga ( Saddleback Island ) and Moturoa. Several small rock outcrops are included in the island group. Waikaranga ( Seal Rocks ), and Tokatapu are several hundred meters offshore. Close to Moturoa lie Whareumu ( Lion Rock ),
252-475: The mainland. There is a trig site on what remains to this day, Mikotahi point. Mikotahi had a neighbouring stack that was connected to the mainland at the base of Paritutu. The people from Moturoa called it Fishing Rock. With caves, rockpools and surrounding beaches it was mostly destroyed from excavations for the cooling water inlet and land reclamation for the power station. In the early 20th century Moturoa and Whareumu (Lion Rock) were blasted with explosives in
270-493: The protection that had been in place since the formation of a marine park in 1986. In 2013 New Plymouth District Council unanimously agreed to gift the protected area back to the government for treaty settlement negotiations with Taranaki and Te Āti Awa iwi. The Sugar Loaf Islands can be divided into inner and outer island groups. The inner islands comprise Mataora ( Round Rock ), Pararaki ( Seagull Rock ) and Motuotamatea ( Snapper Rock ). Mataora connects to
288-456: The south, was protected from commercial and recreational fishing and from mining. The act deemed Moturoa Island , Motumahanga , Waikaranga , and Whareumu as sanctuary areas requiring a permit for entry, with the remaining area a conservation park . Reef heron , little blue penguin , New Zealand fur seal , and orca are monitored species in the area. The islands are on migration routes for oceanic birds , whales , and dolphins . In 2008,
306-404: Was established in 1875, and construction of the main breakwater began in 1881 with Frederic Carrington ceremoniously laying the first stone. In 2007, Port Taranaki became the first port in New Zealand to receive official recognition for its harbour safety management systems. In 2013, the port purchased most of the site of the decommissioned New Plymouth Power Station. This site is adjacent to
324-540: Was one of the first areas inhabited by descendants of Te Whiti o Rongomai , and the islands and reefs were all named by the Ngāti Te Whiti iwi . The island group was given its English name in 1770 by James Cook because they reminded him of the way sugar was stored in heaps in Europe. The Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA) was established in 1991 to protect the area from oil exploration. This strengthened
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