The Te Puke lowlands encompass the area of land seaward of Te Puke extending from Papamoa Beach in the west to Makttu Estuary in the east. The southern part of the lowlands consists of fluviatile terraces overlain by numerous late Quaternary tephra deposits (Fig. 1), the upper units providing the composite parent materials for the Allophanic Soils (Andisols) of the region (e.g. Te Puke series). The northern part comprises a belt of coastal sand dunes aligned parallel to the coast and varying in· width from 100 to 1350 m. Between these units is a lowlying (2-6 m a.s.l.) area comprising drained swampland, pearland, tidal flats, river terraces, and floodplains, all formed since Holocene sea level attained its present position c. 6500 years ago (Wigley 1990).