Mount Hobson (Great Barrier Island)

Mount Hobson (Māori: Hirakimatā) is the highest mountain on Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. Located in the centre of the island, it rises 627 m (2,057 ft) above sea level.[1]

Mount Hobson from the east
The ridge path from Windy Canyon

Geography

Various mountain tracks allow relatively easy access to the summit, with the shortest (2 hour) track leading through the famous Windy Canyon. Great views over the island to the Coromandel Peninsula and the Poor Knights Islands are often possible from the top of the mountain.[2] The summit area is a breeding ground for the black petrel,[3] and the track in this part is mostly composed of boardwalks and stairs to protect the breeding areas and prevent erosion. A number of rare and declining plants on the mainland are largely restricted (or completely restricted) to Great Barrier Island are found on Mount Hobson, these include, Pittosporum kirkii, Epacris sinclairii, Kunzea sinclairii, and also Olearia allomii.[4]

Geology

Mount Hobson is the caldera of a complex rhyolite lava dome, which was active between 12 and 8 million years ago as a part of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone.[5]

References
  1. "Mount Hobson, Auckland - NZ Topo Map". Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. Mount Hobson, Hirakimata (from the Tourism New Zealand website for Great Barrier Island)
  3. Hauraki Gulf islands: Great Barrier Island (from 'Nic's outdoors' on TVNZ)
  4. Clement, Diana (27 August 2009). "Great Barrier Island: Living rough off the cuff". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  5. Hayward, Bruce W. (2017). Out of the Ocean, Into the Fire. Geoscience Society of New Zealand. pp. 134–147. ISBN 978-0-473-39596-4.

36°11′S 175°25′E

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