Mount Tongariro
| Mount Tongariro | |
|---|---|
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| Elevation | 1,978 m (6,490 ft) [1] |
| Location | |
 Mount Tongariro
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| Coordinates | 39°08′00″S 175°38′30″E / 39.1333333°S 175.64167°ECoordinates: 39°08′00″S 175°38′30″E / 39.1333333°S 175.64167°E[1] |
| Geology | |
| Type | Complex volcano |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Taupo Volcanic Zone |
| Last eruption | 1977[1] |
Mount Tongariro (Māori pronunciation: [tɔŋaɾiɾɔ]) is a volcanic complex in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres to the southwest of Lake Taupo, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of the central North Island.
The volcanic massif, often simply referred to as Tongariro, has a height of 1,978 metres (6,490 ft). It first erupted about 260,000 years ago. The volcano consists of at least 12 cones; Ngauruhoe, while often regarded as a separate mountain, is geologically a vent of Tongariro. It is also the most active, having erupted more than 70 times since 1839, although the last eruption took place in 1974-1975.[2] Activity has also been recorded at other vents. Red Crater last erupted ash in 1926 and contains active fumaroles. There are many explosion craters on the massif; water has filled some of these to form the Blue Lake and the Emerald Lakes. Tongariro is an element of the Taupo volcanic zone.
Mount Tongariro is in the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park and one of the earliest in the world. It was set aside (literally "made sacred") in 1887 by Te Heuheu Tukino IV (Horonuku), paramount chief of the Māori Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi and made a national park in order to preserve its natural beauty. The park also includes the peaks of Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, both of which lie to the southwest of Tongariro. The national park is a dual World Heritage Site for its outstanding natural and intangible cultural values.
Andesitic eruptions tend to form steep stratovolcanoes, including mountains such as Tongariro. The local geology and climate tend to lend the Tongariro volcanic centre snowfall in the winter (with commercial ski-fields at neighbouring Mount Ruapehu), while in the mid to late summer, the mountains can be bare - as can be seen in the 
Media related to Mount Tongariro at Wikimedia Commons. Of all North Island regions, the Volcanic Plateau is closest to having a continental climate,[3]
The popular hiking route called Tongariro Alpine Crossing passes between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.
Mount Tongariro and its surroundings are also one of the several locations which Peter Jackson chose to shoot the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
[edit] See also
- List of volcanoes in New Zealand
- List of mountains of New Zealand by height
- Volcanism in New Zealand
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Tongariro". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0401-08=. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ Eileen McSaveney, Carol Stewart and Graham Leonard. Historic volcanic activity: Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2007-11-05. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ Malcolm McKinnon "2. Geology and climate - Volcanic Plateau region - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand:". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand:. Mon November, 30, 1999. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/volcanic-plateau-region/2.. Retrieved Mon 30 Jan 2012 19:26:48 NZDT.
- Hill, H. (1893) The Volcanic Outburst at Te Mari, Tongariro, in November, 1892., Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 26, 388-391.
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Major volcanoes of New Zealand
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Tongariro from the north
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Tongariro Crossing
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Emerald Lakes
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mount Tongariro |
