Boulder Bank

The Boulder Bank is an unusual natural landform off the coast of the New Zealand city of Nelson. It is a 13 km long, narrow gravel bar extending from Mackay Bluff to the east today to the " Cut", the artificial harbor approach today. The southwest of the island located Cuts Haulashore Iceland was until the piercing is also part of the Boulder Bank. The Boulder Bank as an artificially piled breakwater appear seen from land. It separates the Nelson Harbour from Tasman Bay and is managed by the Department of Conservation as a conservation area. Access by land is carried out on the Boulder Bank Drive at the north end of the port of Nelson on State Highway 6.

Geology and Geography

The Boulder Bank is composed of granodiorite. , Who hails from Mackay Bluff. It is still controversial as it led to the formation of the gravel bank. Beach dislocation is the most common formation theory. The main argument against it is that there are not enough wave motion in the Tasman Bay to move large rocks in southwestern direction. Since 1892, studies have been performed to the moving speed of the stones. The top layer of the gravel moves then with 7.5 meters a year.

The only entrance to the Port of Nelson was originally a more narrow at the Arrow Rock at the west end of the Nelson Harbour. The access road was narrow and was increasingly concentrated by sandbanks. This proved against the background of increasing sea transport by Tasman as an obstacle. Therefore, the Bank Bouler 1903-1905 was pierced with a width of 61 meters. Today, the " Cut" 150 meters wide and is dredged every six months in order to maintain a depth of 10 meters.

1862 a lighthouse was built on the western end of the bench.