Editing Heaphy Track (section)

==== Geology of the Gouland Downs ====
This area is a [[peneplain]], a low-relief plain formed from prolonged erosion. Beneath the tussock in the Gouland Downs are sandstone and mudstone [[Sedimentary rock|sedimentary]] rocks that were formed in the [[Paleozoic|Lower Palaeozoic]] era around 400 to 500 million years ago. They are some of the oldest rocks in New Zealand. These rocks were worn down by erosion to form the peneplain around 100 million years ago. They were then submerged beneath a shallow sea, and limestone was deposited on top of the older sedimentary rocks. The land was subsequently uplifted, and erosion removed most of the limestone, leaving isolated outcrops that now appear like tree-covered islands in the tussock landscape. The remaining areas of the Gouland Downs have shallow and infertile soil where the only plants that thrive are tussocks and rushes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barnett |first=Shaun |date=Sep–Oct 2016 |title=Heaphy Track |url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/heaphy-track/ |journal=New Zealand Geographic |issue=141 |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 August 2022 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309021901/https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/heaphy-track/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Petyt" />{{rp||page=183}}