Tongariro Volcano

Updated: Dec 3, 2024 01:45 GMT - refresh

complex volcano 1978 m / 6,490 ft
North Island, New Zealand, -39.12°S / 175.65°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Last update: 10 Dec 2021

Tongariro volcano is a large complex volcano with about 12 craters and vents, including the steep stratovolcano Ngauruhoe, which is the focus of most activity in recent times.
Tongariro with its colorful crater lakes, hot springs, fumaroles, numerous cones and lava deserts is one of the major tourist attractions of the North Island, and the famous "Tongariro crossing" is generally regarded as one of the most scenic hikes in the world.

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Tongariro webcams / live data | News/Updates | Earthquakes | Images

Typical eruption style: explosive
Tongariro volcano eruptions: Eruptions outside Ngauruhoe, mainly on SSE flank (Red Crater): 6 Aug 2012, 1927 (?), 1926, 1896, 1890 (?), 1886, 1885±1, 1869, 1859, 1855, 1500 ± 50, 550 BC ± 200 years, 9350 BC (?), 9450 BC (?), 9650 BC (?), 9850 BC (?)
Eruptions from Ngauruhoe vent: 1975-77, 1972, 1968-69, 1962, 1958-59, 1956, 1948-54, 1939-40, 1937, 1934, 1931, 1924-28, 1917, 1913-14, 1909-10, 1904-07, 1897-98, 1892, 1883, 1881, 1878, 1875, 1869-70, 1862-64, 1857, 1844, 1841, 1839, 550 BC ± 200

Latest nearby earthquakes

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance / Location
Nov 30, 08:52 pm (Auckland)	2.7 110 km	28 km (17 mi) to the N	New Zealand	Info
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Nov 27, 10:09 pm (Auckland)	1.8 66 km	25 km (16 mi) to the SE	New Zealand	Info
Nov 27, 03:54 pm (Auckland)	0.9 23 km		New Zealand	Info
Saturday, November 23, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Nov 24, 08:15 am (Auckland)	0.9 4.5 km		New Zealand	Info
Nov 23, 07:19 pm (Auckland)	1.4 6.7 km	24 km (15 mi) to the NE	New Zealand	Info
Thursday, November 21, 2024 GMT (1 quake)
Nov 22, 04:22 am (Auckland)	2.1 122 km	20 km (13 mi) to the SE	New Zealand	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Tongariro is a large andesitic volcanic massif, located immediately NE of Ruapehu volcano, that is composed of more than a dozen composite cones constructed over a period of 275,000 years.
Vents along a NE-trending zone extending from Saddle Cone (below Ruapehu volcano) to Te Mari crater (including vents at the present-day location of Ngauruhoe) were active during a several hundred year long period around 10,000 years ago, producing the largest known eruptions at the Tongariro complex during the Holocene. North Crater stratovolcano, one of the largest features of the massif, is truncated by a broad, shallow crater filled by a solidified lava lake that is cut on the NW side by a small explosion crater.
The youngest cone of the complex, Ngauruhoe, has grown to become the highest peak of the massif since its birth about 2500 years ago. The symmetrical, steep-sided Ngauruhoe, along with its neighbor Ruapehu to the south, have been New Zealand's most active volcanoes during historical time.

Tongariro Volcano Photos

Layers of oxidized scoria at Tongariro volcano's Red Crater (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Red scoria layers at the Red Crater of Tongariro volcano (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

More photos

Eruptions of Tongariro volcano

6 August 2012 eruption
A brief but violent phreatic eruption occurred at 23:50 local time on 6 August from new vents near the Te Mari crater of Tongariro.
The explosion followed several weeks of increased earthquakes under the volcano. It produced a 7 km tall ash plume and threw ballistic blocks of up to 1 m diameter to 1.5-2 km distance.

An interesting news article with eyewitness accounts and other information: First Tongariro eruption in over 100 years ...more info