Volcanoes in New Zealand

The active volcanoes of Mount Ruapehu, Taranaki and Ngauruhoe are cone or stratovolcanos ³⁸¹⁷  whose characteristic shape is formed by the layering from successive eruptions.

Caldera volcanos ³⁸¹⁸  are known by their enormous explosive eruptions that throw out so much material that the crater collapses. Examples of these include Taupo ³⁸¹⁹  which is now partly filled by the 616 km² Lake Taupo, and Okataina/ Mount Tarawera. ³⁸²⁰  

Volcanic fields, such as Auckland and Northland, are where small eruptions occur over a wide geographic area, and over thousands of years. 

Numerous types of hazards may result from a volcanic eruption, often simultaneously. In New Zealand, the eruption of Mount Tarawera ³⁸²²  in 1886  killed over 110 people. Witnesses described earthquakes, lightning storms and fireballs, strong winds, suffocating gases, ash fall and darkness during daylight hours as the ash cloud passed overhead. The 1953 Tangiwai train disaster ³⁸²³ resulted in 151 deaths, after a train plunged into a river when the bridge it was crossing collapsed as a result of the Mount Ruapehu crater rim failing, spilling a lahar of sand, ice, silt and boulders down the mountain into the nearest river valley.

Last updated at 11:13AM on February 8, 2018