| Dunollie | |
| Image Alt: | Centre road stretching into distance with grass verges and buildings at both sides and a bright blue sky |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | New Zealand |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | West Coast |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Grey District |
| Pushpin Map: | New Zealand West Coast |
| Coordinates: | -42.3881°N 171.26°W |
| Blank Name: | Local iwi |
| Blank Info: | Ngāi Tahu |
Dunollie is a small town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, approximately 8 km from Greymouth. It is at an elevation of approximately 30 meters.[1]
Dunollie was a station on the Rewanui line railway.[2] Coal deposits were discovered in the Paparoa Ranges.[3]
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) extinction, was a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago.
Some 2 kilometers up the valley near the river bed and near the Moody Creek mine, a layer of rock was found where the formation of coal had abruptly ended some 66 million years ago. The top of the coal was coated with a thin layer of Iriduim and then there occurred a 40,000 year Fern Spike. This formation was key in proving the size, severity and the global nature of the Chixulub Impactor. The K–Pg extinction event was severe, global, rapid, and selective, eliminating a vast number of species. Based on marine fossils, it is estimated that 75% or more of all species were made extinct.