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Surville Cliffs

 

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Surville Cliffs



 
 
The Surville Cliffs are the northernmost point of the mainland of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
. They are situated on the North Cape
North Cape, New Zealand

North Cape is located at the northern end of the North Auckland Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand . It is the northeastern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula and lies 30 km east of Cape Reinga....
 of the North Island
North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the List of islands by area....
, 30 kilometres to the east of Cape Reinga
Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is located over 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia....
 (which is often mistaken as New Zealand's northernmost point), and three kilometres more northerly. In the past the cliffs have sometimes been referred to as Kerr Point but true Kerr Point lies a short distance away at the western end of North Cape.

The first European discovery of the cliffs was made by Jean-François-Marie de Surville
Jean-François-Marie de Surville

Jean-Fran?ois-Marie de Surville was a French people merchant and navigator.In 1767 de Surville set sail in his ship, the St Jean Baptiste to India to trade between the French settlements in India and China....
 in December 1769, when he sailed his ship 'St Jean Baptiste' to New Zealand to find a safe anchorage to care for sick crew.






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Nz North C
The Surville Cliffs are the northernmost point of the mainland of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
. They are situated on the North Cape
North Cape, New Zealand

North Cape is located at the northern end of the North Auckland Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand . It is the northeastern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula and lies 30 km east of Cape Reinga....
 of the North Island
North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the List of islands by area....
, 30 kilometres to the east of Cape Reinga
Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is located over 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia....
 (which is often mistaken as New Zealand's northernmost point), and three kilometres more northerly. In the past the cliffs have sometimes been referred to as Kerr Point but true Kerr Point lies a short distance away at the western end of North Cape.

The first European discovery of the cliffs was made by Jean-François-Marie de Surville
Jean-François-Marie de Surville

Jean-Fran?ois-Marie de Surville was a French people merchant and navigator.In 1767 de Surville set sail in his ship, the St Jean Baptiste to India to trade between the French settlements in India and China....
 in December 1769, when he sailed his ship 'St Jean Baptiste' to New Zealand to find a safe anchorage to care for sick crew. He found them only a few days before they were seen by James Cook
James Cook

Captain James Cook Royal Society Royal Navy was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy....
.

Local flora


The cliffs expose 1.2 square kilometres of serpentinised
Serpentine

The serpentine group describes a group of common rock-forming hydroxy magnesium iron Silicate minerals#Phyllosilicates minerals; they may contain minor amounts of other elements including chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel....
 peridotite
Peridotite

A peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic and ultrabasic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica....
 mafic
Mafic

Mafic is an adjective describing a silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron; the term was derived by contracting "magnesium" and "ferric"....
 rocks. They form a unique environment that supports a number of threatened and endangered plants endemic to the area, including:
  • Pittosporum
    Pittosporum

    Pittosporum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa....
     ellipticum subsp. serpentinum
  • Hebe
    Hebe (plant)

    Hebe is a genus of plants native to New Zealand, Rapa in French Polynesia, the Falkland Islands, and South America. It includes about 90 species and is the largest plant genus in New Zealand....
     brevifolia
  • Hebe
    Hebe (plant)

    Hebe is a genus of plants native to New Zealand, Rapa in French Polynesia, the Falkland Islands, and South America. It includes about 90 species and is the largest plant genus in New Zealand....
     ligustrifolia
  • Helichrysum aggregatum
  • Leucopogon xerampelinus
  • Pimelea
    Pimelea

    Pimelea is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 80 species in the genus, native to Australia and New Zealand. Many of the species are poisonous to cattle....
     tomentosa
    (Sand Daphne)
  • Phyllocladus trichomanoides
    Phyllocladus trichomanoides

    Phyllocladus trichomanoides is a Pinophyta tree native to New Zealand.Tanekaha is a medium-sized forest tree growing up to 20 m in height and 1 m trunk diameter....
     (Tanekaha)
  • Pseudopanax lessonii
    Pseudopanax lessonii

    Pseudopanax lessonii, or houpara, is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Araliaceae.Houpara is a shrub or tree up to 6 m tall, with stout branches....
     (Coastal Fivefinger)
  • Uncinia
    Uncinia

    Uncinia is a genus of plant in family Cyperaceae. It contains the following species :* Uncinia ecuadorensis, G.A.Wheeler & Goetgh.* Uncinia lacustris, G.A.Wheeler...
     perplexa
    (Surville Cliffs Bastard Grass)