Tongariro National Park

The central features of the national park are the three volcanoes of Tongariro (1968m), Ngauruhoe (2291m) and Ruapehu (2797m). They are part of a chain of volcanoes that extends north by way of the volcanic White Island to the Kermadec and Tonga islands. These volcanoes, relatively young in geological terms, have repeatedly erupted in recent centuries, as attested by Maori legends and observations made since the European settlement, but have rarely caused catastrophic damage. The most serious recent incident was at Christmas in 1953, when the crater lake on Mount Ruapehu overflowed and a great volume of water and mud poured down, destroying the railroad bridge at Tangiwai, derailing the Wellington-Auckland express and killing 151 people. The last time the snow-capped Ruapehu showed any volcanic activity was in September 1995, when it spewed out huge mass of rock and lava and great rivers of mud flowed down its slopes.

Mount Tongariro, the most northerly of the three volcanoes, is also the lowest. Its summit is broken down into a number of craters. On the slopes of the hill, at Ketetahi, there is an active geothermal field, with hot springs, fumaroles and seething mud pools.

Mount Ngauruhoe is still active and there are frequently plumes of smoke and steam over its summit. A series of minor eruptions since 1954 have changed the form of the mountain, particularly on the west side.