Taupo Volcanic Zone

The Taupo Volcanic Zone is an active volcanic region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Lake Taupo, the flooded caldera of the largest volcano in this zone.

Activity

In the zone there are numerous volcanic vents and Geothermalfelder, of which Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe and White Island Volcano Iceland most frequently erupt. The most significant eruption since the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand was the Mount Tarawera, which fell that in 1886 more than 100 people died. After arrival of the first Māori a much larger eruption of the same volcano took place in 1300.

The last major eruption of Lake Taupo, the Hatepe eruption, occurred in the year 181 it is believed that they led to a pyroclastic flow that covered about 2000 km ² of land with volcanic ash. The ejected material volume was estimated at 120 km ³, of which more than 30 cubic kilometers in just a few minutes. The date of the outbreak is unknown, since the ash resulted in a red colored sky in Rome and China. The latter was documented in Hou Hanshu.

About 26,000 years ago, it came with the Oruanui eruption to a far larger outbreak, with an estimated 1170 km ³ volume. She was the youngest eruption worldwide, the VEI -8, reached the highest level of Vulkanexplosivitätsindex.

The Rotorua Caldera is already longer inactive, the most significant eruption was about 240,000 years ago, but lava domes were formed in the last 25,000 years.

Expansion and geological context

The Taupo Volcanic Zone is about 350 km long and 50 km wide. Mount Ruapehu marks its southwestern end, the submarine Whakatane volcano 85 km before White Iceland is considered northeastern boundary.

It forms the southern part of the active Lau - Havre - Taupo backarc basin, which lies behind the Kermadec Tonga subduction zone. The volcanic activity continues for several submarine volcanoes of the Taupo Volcanic Zone to the north - northeast, including Clark, Tangaroa, the Silents and the Rumbles. Then the active zone to the east of the parallel chain of volcanoes of the Kermadec Islands and the island of Tonga turns to. Although the backarc Basin continues to the southwest ( the South Wanganui Basin was its original Basin ), is from this region no volcanic activity known. The Taupo Volcanic Zone can therefore be regarded as southwestern end of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which marks the subduction zones around the Pacific.

South of Kaikoura, the plate boundary transforms into a transform fault, at the lift which is superimposed shifting tectonic plates, the Southern Alps on the South Island. Southwest of Fiordland at the southwest corner of the South Island begins again a subduction zone, but here in the opposite direction. Solander Iceland is an extinct volcano, which is associated in addition to other undersea volcanoes with this subduction zone.

Studies have shown that the earth's crust is 16 km thick beneath the Taupo Volcanic Zone. A 50 km wide and 160 km long magma layer is only ten kilometers below the surface. The geological findings show that some of the volcanoes erupt infrequently, but then show big, explosive and destructive outbursts.

Volcanoes, lakes and geothermal fields

At the Taupo Volcanic Zone include the volcanic centers Rotorua, Okataina, Maroa, Taupo, Tongariro and Manga cinema.

  • Whakatane Graben, Bay of Plenty Whakatane volcano ( submarine volcano)
  • Mayor Iceland
  • Iceland Whale
  • White Iceland Te paepae o Aotea
  • Kawerau Power Station
  • Rotorua caldera
  • Ngongotaha (Volcano)
  • Lakes Lake Rotorua Mokoia Iceland
  • Tikitere / Hell ' s Gate
  • Whakarewarewa Pohutu Geyser
  • Okataina Volcanic Center Okataina caldera Haroharo caldera Haroharo - volcanic complex
  • Mount Tarawera and Tarawera volcanic complex
  • Maroa Volcanic Center: The Maroa caldera is located in the northeast of the Whakamaru Caldera, the Caldera Whakamaru partially overlapped the Taupo caldera in the south. The Waikato river follows the northern edge of the Maroa caldera. The city Whakamaru and the reservoir Whakamaru the Waikato River, also have the same name. Maroa caldera
  • Reporoa caldera
  • Whakamaru caldera
  • Geothermal fields Wai -O -Tapu
  • Wairakei Craters of the Moon ( Karapiti )
  • Taupo Caldera Mount Tauhara
  • Lake Taupo Horomatangi reefs
  • Motutaiko Iceland
  • Tauhara Taupo -
  • Tongariro Volcanic Center: Lake Taupo, Kakaramea, Pihanga, Tongariro and Ruapehu are arranged approximately in a line on the main fault. Kakaramea
  • Pihanga
  • Mount Tongariro and Tongariro Vuklankomplex Mount Ngauruhoe
  • Tama Lakes
  • Hauhungatahi
  • Lake Rotoaira
  • Lake Rotopounamu
  • Ketetahi Springs
  • Lake Maraetai

There is also a further classification of the volcanic zone:

  • Northern part: Whakatane Graben - Bay of Plenty
  • Central part: west of the main fault: Manga Cinema caldera complex; may transition to the Coromandel Volcanic Zone ( CVZ ) ( 0.91 to 1.62 million years old )
  • Kapenga caldera; between the Maroa caldera and the Rotorua caldera, entirely of extant tephra covered, about 700,000 years old Okareka Dent, within the northern end of the Kapenga caldera, between the Tarawera volcanic complex and the Lake Rotorua
  • Okataina caldera complex Haroharo caldera complex Tarawera volcanic complex
  • Okareka Bay
  • Maroa caldera
  • " Reporoa single event caldera "; Kaingaroa - ignimbrite ( came of age at a single eruption about 240,000 years)

Gallery

Rotorua caldera.

Satellite image of Mount Ruapehu

Panorama over Lake Taupo

Mount Tarawera

Fiordland-Nationalpark Crust (geology) Mayor Island / Tuhua Putauaki Mokoia Island Lake Rotokakahi Lake Rotoiti (Bay of Plenty) Taupo Volcano Orakei Korako Digital Object Identifier
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