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New Zealand · Caldera

Taupō Volcano

Taupo

Type
Caldera
Elevation
760m
Last eruption
260
Taupō Volcano
Photo: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Caldera
Country
New Zealand
Region
Tonga & Kermadec / Taupo Volcanic Arc
Elevation
760m
Coordinates
-38.781, 175.893
Last eruption
260
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Caldera
Major rock type
Rhyolite

Geological summary

Taupo, the most active rhyolitic volcano of the Taupo volcanic zone, is a large, roughly 35-km-wide caldera with poorly defined margins.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

Lake Taupō, in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, fills the caldera of the Taupō Volcano, a large rhyolitic supervolcano. This huge volcano has produced two of the world's most powerful eruptions in geologically recent times.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

25 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
25
Uncertain eruptions
0
Span of confirmed record
9460 BCE (±200 yrs) – 260
Largest confirmed eruption
VEI 6 (233, the most recent of 2)
Confirmed eruptions since 1900
0
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
9460 BCE~9136 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI 58164 BCE~7840 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 55248 BCE~4924 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 34924 BCE~4600 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 44276 BCE~3952 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 43628 BCE~3304 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 33304 BCE~2980 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI 42980 BCE~2656 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI 42656 BCE~2332 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 41684 BCE~1360 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 61360 BCE~1036 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 41036 BCE~712 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 4388 BCE~64 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 464 BCE~260 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 69460 BCE7192 BCE4600 BCE2332 BCE64 BCE

Detailed timeline

  1. 260VEI 0Geological estimate
    260 – end unknown
    East Lake Taupo (Horomatangi Reefs)
  2. 233 (±13 yrs)VEI 6Geological estimate
    233-03-15 – end unknown
    Horomatangi Reefs area
  3. 200 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    200 BCE – end unknown
    4 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  4. 800 BCEVEI 2Geological estimate
    800 BCE – end unknown
    Ouaha Hills
  5. 1010 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    1010 BCE – end unknown
    4 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  6. 1050 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    1050 BCE – end unknown
    5 km NE of Motutaiko Island
  7. 1250 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    1250 BCE – end unknown
    4 km W of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  8. 1460 BCE (±40 yrs)VEI 6Geological estimate
    1460 BCE – end unknown
    Horomatangi Reefs?
  9. 2500 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    2500 BCE – end unknown
    3 km SW of Motutaiko Island
  10. 2600 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    2600 BCE – end unknown
    3 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  11. 2800 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    2800 BCE – end unknown
  12. 2850 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    2850 BCE – end unknown
    2 km S of Te Tuhi Point
  13. 2900 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    2900 BCE – end unknown
    5 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  14. 3070 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    3070 BCE – end unknown
    5 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  15. 3120 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    3120 BCE – end unknown
    2 km W of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  16. 3170 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    3170 BCE – end unknown
    4 km NW of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  17. 3420 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    3420 BCE – end unknown
  18. 4000 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    4000 BCE – end unknown
  19. 4100 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    4100 BCE – end unknown
    4 km WNW of Kohaiakahu Point
  20. 4700 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    4700 BCE – end unknown
    East-central Lake Taupo
  21. 5100 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    5100 BCE – end unknown
    SE Lake Taupo (Motutaiko Island) (Unit F)
  22. 8130 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    8130 BCE – end unknown
    Central, E-central L. Taupo (Opepe)
  23. 9210 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    9210 BCE – end unknown
    Acacia Bay lava dome
  24. 9240 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    9240 BCE – end unknown
    4 km W of Te Kohaiakahu Point
  25. 9460 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    9460 BCE – end unknown
    East-central Lake Taupo (Karapiti)

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.