BIKE THE BANKS
Feb 24, 2020
3 minutes
THE LONG CRAGGY fingers of Banks Peninsula were formed by two massive volcanic eruptions between six and 11 million years ago. The resulting overlapping volcanic cones rose to over twice the height of the present-day hills, but erosion has whittled down their summits and formed deep valleys with steep sea cliffs at the exposed headlands.
Akaroa and Lyttelton harbours formed around 7000 years ago when the sea rose and flooded the valleys. James Cook mistook the landmass for an island and named it Banks Island, after the expedition’s naturalist, Joseph
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