Rotorua Volcano

Updated: Oct 4, 2024 01:38 GMT - refresh

Caldera 757 m / 2,484 ft
New Zealand, -38.08°S / 176.27°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Last update: 26 Mar 2019

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Typical eruption style: unspecified
Rotorua volcano eruptions: Pleistocene

Latest nearby earthquakes

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance / Location
Oct 3, 10:46 pm (Auckland)	2.9 148 km	29 km (18 mi) to the SW	New Zealand	Info
Saturday, September 28, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Sep 29, 12:55 pm (Auckland)	3.0 164 km	25 km (15 mi) to the W	New Zealand I FELT IT	Info
Sep 29, 10:05 am (Auckland)	2.7 143 km		New Zealand	Info
Thursday, September 26, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Sep 27, 12:18 am (Auckland)	2.7 131 km		New Zealand	Info
Sep 26, 04:38 pm (Auckland)	2.8 136 km		New Zealand	Info
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 GMT (1 quake)
Sep 24, 04:24 pm (Auckland)	2.9 133 km	15 km (9.3 mi) to the N	New Zealand	Info

View recent quakes

Background

The 22-km-wide Rotorua caldera is the NW-most caldera of the Taupo volcanic zone. Rotorua is the only single-event caldera in the Taupo volcanic zone and was formed about 220,000 years ago following eruption of the >340 cu km rhyolitic Mamaku Ignimbrite. Although caldera collapse occurred in a single event, the process was complex and involved multiple collapse blocks. The major city of Rotorua lies at the south end of the lake that fills much of the caldera. Post-collapse eruptive activity, which ceased during the Pleistocene, has been restricted to lava dome extrusion without major explosive activity. The youngest eruptive activity at Rotorua consisted of the eruption of three lava domes less than 25,000 years ago. The major thermal areas of Takeke, Tikitere, Lake Rotokawa, and Rotorua-Whakarewarewa are located within the caldera or outside its rim, and the city of Rotorua lies within and adjacent to active geothermal fields.
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Smithsonian / GVP volcano information