Appendix Two Overall Natural Character of the Marlborough Sounds - Terrestrial Collective Characteristics A highly distinctive landform of partially drowned valleys. An intricate, complex indented coastline with numerous promontories, bays and islands. A diverse range of ecosystems determined by a wide range of geology, landforms, climate and biota. Distinctive mineral belt ecosystems. A strong maritime influence and high exposure to the strong winds of Cook Strait. Exceptional biodiversity. Over 50% is in indigenous vegetation cover. Extensive areas of intact upland forest, and a few large tracts of lowland and coastal forest. Distinctive alpine and coastal communities. A collection of island refuges for nationally threatened native species. Gondwanaland remnants with highly distinctive native animal species such as tuatara; numerous endemic species (confined to Marlborough Sounds) and species reaching their distributional limits. Extensive wild and scenic areas. A. The Physical Environment 1. Landforms/Geology Largely sedimentary and metamorphic rocks regionally arranged in broad, more or less parallel bands aligned southwest - northeast. Sedimentary strata, of predominantly indurated sandstones (greywacke), confined to the western parts of Pelorus catchment and Sound. Metamorphic rocks are schists of varying degrees of development. Weakly schistose rocks, with limited alignment of their minerals into plates and limited separation of those minerals into discrete layers (foliation), comprise much of Pelorus Sound and eastern Queen Charlotte Sound. Strongly schistose rocks, with well-developed foliation into quartz layers, comprise much of the Wakamarina catchment and central parts of the Sounds including eastern parts of Mt Stokes massif. The geology of the western part of the Sounds, including D’Urville Island, is dominated by the Nelson/Marlborough mineral (ophiolite) belt, and comprises ultramafic rocks and melanges of various rock types in an ultramafic matrix. These have originated deep within the earth and are extremely nutrient-poor but have unusually high concentrations of magnesium and iron and the trace elements nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium and manganese. Such high concentrations of these elements have altered the earth’s magnetic field along the belt. Also associated with the belt are rare outcrops of serpentinitic breccia, argillite and limestone. Due to regional submergence, alluvium is generally uncommon in the Sounds proper, being largely confined to relatively small pockets behind embayment heads. Nevertheless, it is quite extensive further inland, and is a very important valley floor component of the Pelorus, Wakamarina and Kaituna catchments. The various rock types in the Sounds have played a large part in determining the pattern and characteristics of many landforms, differences in rates and types of erosion, differences in relief, drainage patterns, and biotic assemblages and patterns. App Two - 3