![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Little_Barrier_Island_From_Above_Great.jpg/640px-Little_Barrier_Island_From_Above_Great.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Cradock Channel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cradock Channel is one of three channels connecting the Hauraki Gulf with the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.[1] It is the central channel, lying between Great Barrier Island to the east and Little Barrier Island to the west. The other two channels are the Jellicoe Channel and the Colville Channel.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Little_Barrier_Island_From_Above_Great.jpg/640px-Little_Barrier_Island_From_Above_Great.jpg)
Approximately 17,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were significantly lower, the area was a part of a vast coastal plain. The area where the Cradock Channel exists was where the Waitematā Harbour (then a river) and the Mahurangi River passed before reaching the Pacific Ocean.[2]