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| Geography | |
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 36°57′13″S174°27′58″E / 36.95368°S 174.46602°E |
| Adjacent to | Tasman Sea |
| Highest elevation | 52 m (171 ft) |
| Administration | |
New Zealand | |
Lion Rock is a rocky headland located on Piha Beach on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand.
The rock is located to the south of Piha beach, close to the major settlement at Piha. The Piha Stream flows into the Tasman Sea directly south of the rock. [1]
The island is a volcanic plug of the Miocene era Waitākere Volcano, composed of stratified rudite and intrusive andesite. [2] The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea 17 million years ago. [3] As the volcano aged and eroded, the Lion Rock vent filled with collapsed lava, scoria and volcanic bombs, until it formed into its modern-day shape. [4]
The traditional name for the rock is Te Piha, and is a name that was applied to the wider area. [5] The name Te Piha came from the pattern made when waves hit against the rock. [6] Lion Rock is in the rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, and was the location of island pā known as Whakaari, [7] which literally means "exposed to view" or "display". [8] The pā was captured by a Ngāti Whātua war party led by Tainui warrior Kāwharu around the year 1700. [7]
Archaeological surveys have shown the remains of platforms, midden and terraces on Lion Rock, as well as fragments of traditional textiles, dating back to a time before European contact. [9] The earthworks of Whakaari pā are not well preserved due to erosion. [10]
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some 27,720 hectares of public and private land. The area, traditionally known to Māori as Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa, is of local, regional, and national significance. The Waitākere Ranges includes a chain of hills in the Auckland Region, generally running approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland. The ranges are part of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai Regional Park includes a nesting site for a large colony of gannets.
Piha is a coastal settlement in West Auckland, on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, and especially in summer.
Karekare is a small coastal settlement in West Auckland, New Zealand, sandwiched between the Waitākere Ranges and a large black sand surf beach.
Anawhata is a beach on the coast of New Zealand west of Auckland.
Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the Henga or gunwale of an upturned waka hull. This name originally applied to a wide area of the lower Waitakere River valley, but during the early 1900s the area became popular with visiting European immigrants who began to refer to the area as "Bethells Beach" after the Bethell Family who live there and still own much of the area. In 1976 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named the area "Te Henga ".
Oratia is a semi-rural locality on the western edge of metropolitan West Auckland in New Zealand.
Lake Wainamu is a small lake near Te Henga in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is located south-west of Lake Kawaupaka.
Waitākere, often called Waitākere Township, is a small, mostly rural settlement to the northwest of Auckland, New Zealand.
West Auckland is one of the major geographical areas of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Much of the area is dominated by the Waitākere Ranges, the eastern slopes of the Miocene era Waitākere volcano which was upraised from the ocean floor, and now one of the largest regional parks in New Zealand. The metropolitan area of West Auckland developed between the Waitākere Ranges to the west and the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour to the east. It covers areas such as Glen Eden, Henderson, Massey and New Lynn.
Little Huia is a western coastal settlement of West Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand and forms part of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park, bordering the Manukau Harbour. It is located south-west of the settlement of Huia.
The Kakamatua Inlet is an inlet of the Manukau Harbour of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock is an island at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, at Whatipu in the Waitākere Ranges area.
O'Neill Bay is a bay on the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of Te Henga / Bethells Beach.
Paratutae Island, also known as Paratūtai Island, is an island off New Zealand at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, at Whatipu in the Waitākere Ranges area.
Pukematekeo is a hill in the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located west of Henderson, and is the northernmost hill in the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Ruaotuwhenua is a hill in the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. At 440 metres (1,440 ft), it is one of the tallest of the Waitākere Ranges, and the tallest of the eastern ranges adjacent to Auckland. The peak is the location of an air traffic radome and a radio mast is located further down the slope of the hill in Waiatarua.
Paorae is the name of a migrating coastal dune, formerly located west of the Āwhitu Peninsula in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Paorae was an important area for cultivating kūmara and taro for Tāmaki Māori tribes Ngāiwi and Ngāoho, and later Waikato Tainui. The land eroded in the 18th century, becoming known as a legendary "Māori Atlantis" to European New Zealanders. Material from Paorae forms the Manukau Heads sandbars and the modern day beach at Whatipu, which began forming in the 1930s.
The Waitākere volcano, also known as the Manukau volcano, was a Miocene era volcano that formed off the west coast of the modern Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. Erupting intermittently between 23 million and 15 million years ago, the volcano was at one point one of the tallest mountains in New Zealand. The volcano alternated between periods as a seamount and as a volcanic island, before tectonic forces raised the volcano up from the seafloor 17 million years ago. Volcanism at the site ceased 15 million years ago and the cone has mostly eroded, however the modern Waitākere Ranges are formed from the remnants of the volcano's eastern slopes. A number of visible volcanic sites associated with the Waitākere volcano remain around Auckland, including Pukematekeo, Karekare and Lion Rock.
Te Rau-o-te-Huia / Mount Donald McLean is a hill in the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of the ranges, near the township of Huia. It is the highest peak of the Waitākere Ranges that borders the Manukau Harbour.