Barrytown Flats

Barrytown Flats
Plain
Coordinates: 42°14′38″S 171°19′35″E / 42.24389°S 171.32639°E / -42.24389; 171.32639
Location	West Coast, New Zealand
Age	6,500 years
Formed by	Glacial outwash
Dimensions
• Length	17 km
• Width	1.5 km
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Highest elevation	30 m

The Barrytown Flats are a 17 km (11 mi) coastal plain north of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. A series of postglacial shorelines and dunes backed by a former sea cliff,^[1] they was originally covered with wetland and lowland forest, including numerous nīkau palms (the southern limit of this species on the West Coast).^[2] The sands were extensively sluiced and dredged for gold from the 1860s, centred on the small settlement of Barrytown.^[3] The drier areas of the flats have been converted into pasture, but significant areas of forest remain, including Nikau Scenic Reserve.^[4] The flats are bordered by Paparoa National Park and the only breeding site of the Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica).^[5] There are significant deposits of ilmenite (titanium dioxide) in the Barrytown sands, and there have been several mining proposals, but the possible environmental consequences have been contentious.^{[citation needed]}