Māngere Lagoon is a lagoon in the Manukau Harbour, New Zealand. It occupies a volcanic crater or maar which is part of the Auckland volcanic field. Oval and about 600m long, it has a small restored scoria island remaining in the centre.[1]

Māngere Lagoon
Māngere Lagoon seen from Māngere Mountain
Māngere Lagoon seen from Māngere Mountain
LocationAuckland, North Island
Coordinates36°57′25″S 174°46′39″E / 36.95702°S 174.77763°E / -36.95702; 174.77763
Typemaar lake
Primary outflowsManukau Harbour
Surface elevation0 m (0 ft)
Map

Geography

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Māngere Lagoon erupted an estimated 59,500 years before the present,[2] predating the adjacent Māngere Mountain.[3] Approximately 7,000 years ago, the crater became a tidal lagoon due to rising sea levels.[3] The crater dome became a small island within the tidal estuary.[3]

History

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Māngere Lagoon at low tide, seen from the Māngere Lagoon Path

The lagoon, alongside Waitomokia, Crater Hill, Kohuora, Pukaki Lagoon and Robertson Hill, is one of the volcanic features collectively referred to as Nga Tapuwae a Mataoho ("The Sacred Footprints of Mataoho"), referring to the deity in Tāmaki Māori myths who was involved in their creation.[4][5]

In the 1930s efforts were made to drain the swamp for conversion to pasture, while in the late 1950s, earthworks for sewage sludge ponds in the lagoon removed the scoria cone and the crater was divided into ponds.[1] Public demand for a better sewage treatment system eventually led to a land-based facility, and in 2003, the restoration of the area to a tidal lagoon was completed, with the sludge removed. The scoria cone was rebuilt with an extra flat portion added on the west side as an artificial bird roost.[6][7] The shores of the lagoon are restored with native bush, replacing pine forests.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Māngere Lagoon - City of Fire, insert magazine in The New Zealand Herald, Friday 15 February 2008
  2. ^ Hopkins, Jenni L.; Smid, Elaine R.; Eccles, Jennifer D.; Hayes, Josh L.; Hayward, Bruce W.; McGee, Lucy E.; van Wijk, Kasper; Wilson, Thomas M.; Cronin, Shane J.; Leonard, Graham S.; Lindsay, Jan M.; Németh, Karoly; Smith, Ian E. M. (3 July 2021). "Auckland Volcanic Field magmatism, volcanism, and hazard: a review". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 64 (2–3): 213–234. doi:10.1080/00288306.2020.1736102. hdl:2292/51323. S2CID 216443777.
  3. ^ a b c d Janssen, Peter (January 2021). Greater Auckland Walks. New Holland Publishers. p. 166-167. ISBN 978-1-86966-516-6. Wikidata Q118136068.
  4. ^ "The History of Our Marae". Makaurau Marae. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ^ Simmons, D. R. (1979). "George Graham's Maori Place Names of Auckland". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 16: 11–39. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42906272. Wikidata Q58677091.
  6. ^ Redemption near for Puketutu - City of Fire, insert magazine in The New Zealand Herald, Friday 15 February 2008
  7. ^ Volcanoes of Auckland: The Essential Guide - Hayward, B.W., Murdoch, G., Maitland, G.; Auckland University Press, 2011.

Further reading

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  • Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. ISBN 0-582-71784-1.
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