Putauaki

Mount Edgecumbe seen ( Pūtauaki ) from the North

The Mount Edgecumbe, named among the Māori Pūtauaki, is a currently dormant volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, 25 km from the coast of the Bay of Plenty, on the North Island of New Zealand.

Geography

The 820 m high volcano is located 46 km east of Rotorua and 28 km south-west of Whakatane on the southern foothills of the Rangitaiki Plains, the level for which the Rangitaiki River was named. The town of Kawerau as the administrative center of the Kawerau District is located only four kilometers away in casting distance of the volcano. As the country around is flat relative, the volcano takes with his unmistakable crater rim a prominent position in the landscape and are by its picturesque appearance is always a reason to take pictures.

Geology

The about 4000 year old volcanic counts due to its structure to the strato-volcanoes. Its core consists mainly of dacite magma. The volcano consists of a younger cone, which brings him to the height of 820 m and from the west of it lying older cathedral, which is 400 m lower. The main crater has an outer edge of 36 ° and an inner edge which is flatter at 30 degrees and down to 40 m leads.

His two major eruptive phases had the volcano about 4000 and 2000 years BC Although his recent activities date back about 1115 years, the volcano is still valid in several ways as dangerous. On the one hand, despite the long rest period due to the very geologically active region is still the possibility of an outbreak. Experts from the potential of 0.1 km ³ lava from an eruption from. The two closest volcanoes, Mount Tarawera and the Okataina Volcanic Centre offer a potential hazard of seven to eight cubic kilometers for comparison and are much more active. On the other hand, the volcano has the potential risk of landslides caused by long rains in compounds with an earthquake. The northwestern flank could be hazardous according to the capitalization studies of the city in the east of Kawerau well.

Origin of name

The name Mount Edgecumbe was the mountain of James Cook, who visited the Bay of Plenty in October 1769 saw the impressive collection from the sea. He named the mountain after may George Edgcumbe, an admiral of the British Navy.

There are many different legends Putauaki in Māori mythology, but none of them explains the origin of the name.

Current usage

The 1866 confiscated from the British Crown northern half of the mountain was in 1999 awarded the Māori as legitimate again. Since then, the volcano is only available on payment of a fee. The Maori Investments Limited manages the use of and access to the mountain.

Swell

• Dolan Hewitt: Risk analysis associated with flank failure from Putauaki, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The University of Waikato, 2007.