Overview
Pounamu only occurs naturally in the South Island of New Zealand. It is found in seven areas: Nelson, Westland, South Westland, Makarora (Wanaka district), Wakatipu, Milford Sound, and the Livingstone Mountains.
The two main types of pounamu are nephrite and bowenite. Both rocks form deep in the Earth’s crust and are rarer than gold. The more common nephrite is the product of high-pressure cooking of two contrasting rock types, such as dunite and greywacke.
Pounamu-bearing rocks were raised to the Earth’s surface by movement and collision along a plate boundary. They occur in the Southern Alps, which formed over the past two million years.
It is rare to find pounamu in the rock where it was originally formed. The rock is usually eroded by the action of streams, rivers, and past glaciers. This frees the pounamu, which is often discovered in rivers as boulders or pebbles, or is found washed up on the coast.
Ngā pūtake pūtaiao-ā-nuku
Kitea ai te pounamu i Te Wai Pounamu o Aotearoa. Kitea ai ki: Whakatū, Te Tai Poutini, Te Tonga o Te Tai Poutini, Makarora, Wānaka, Whakatipu, Piopiotahi me ngā Maunga Whakatipu.
E rua ngā tino momo pounamu, te nephrite me te bowenite. Hangaia ai nga kōhatu e rua i te manawa o te whenua, he onge atu i te kōura. Ko te nephrite he hua nō te taonga tahitanga o ētahi kōhatu rerekē e rua pēnei i te dunite me te ōnewa.
Nā te oreoretanga ki te ripa tawhā i hiki ngā toka pounamu kia rewa ki runga i a Papatūānuku. Hangaia ai ēnei toka i ngā maunga o Tiritiri o Te Moana i roto i ngā tau rua miriona ki muri.
He uaua te kite i te pounamu i te toka ō tōna orokohanga. Mō te nuinga, he mea kauoro te toka matua e te wai o ngā manga, o ngā awa, me ngā awakeo o tau kē. Nā tēnei i whakawātea te pounamu, ā, kitea ai hei kōhatu nui, kirikiri rānei i ngā awa, paenga ki uta rānei i te ākau.