Volcanoes, both active and ancient ones, can be found across New Zealand’s stunning landscape. Here are 5 active New Zealand volcanoes, including one you can ski on.
I love New Zealand because the landscape is truly amazing. You can visit beautiful stretches of sand beaches, rugged coasts, big mountains, and volcanoes. The two main islands are very different in terms of their geology due to the underlying plate techtonics. The north island is where you can find all of the active volcanoes.
5 Active New Zealand Volcanoes
The primary area of active volcanism in NZ is an area called the Taupo Volcanic Zone. This area of land extends from Mt. Ruapehu in the center of the North Island in a north-easterly direction to White Island, offshore from the town of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty.
Mt. Ruapehu (Tongariro Area)
Mt. Ruapehu is the tallest point on the North Island of New Zealand.
Mt. Ruapehu, a stratovolcano, is home to the only glaciers on the North Island. It is the largest active volcano in NZ and last erupted in 1995. There are three ski fields on the slopes of this volcano.
Mt. Ngauruhoe (Tongariro Area)
This stratovolcano is the youngest of the volcanoes in the Tongariro area. It is around 2,500 years old and still active. It erupted at least 60 times between 1839 and 1975.
This volcano attained fame since it was used to portray Mt. Doom in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies.
Auckland Volcanic Field & Rangitoto
The Auckland area is home to a large volcanic field. This is a large area within which many volcanoes erupt as bubbles of magma make their way to the surface where they erupt. Each volcano in this field erupts only once. There is no way to predict when the next bubble of magma will rise to the surface, creating another volcano.
There have been 48 volcanoes in the Auckland region over the last 150,000 years. The most recent, Rangitoto, was also the largest. Rangitoto is a volcanic island in the Hauraki gulf that is visible from most parts of Auckland.
White Island
This is the most continuously active volcano in New Zealand over the last 40 years. It is an uninhabited island about 2 km off the coast of the Bay of Plenty.
This is another stratovolcano, most of which is located under the ocean. Only the upper 300 meters of so rises above the ocean.
Mt. Taranaki
This stratovolcano is the second highest peak on the north island at 2,518 m. A series of former volcanoes stretch north from Mt. Taranaki, becoming older the farther away they are – Pouakai Range (.25 million years ago), Kaitake Range (.5 mya), and the Sugar Loaf Islands/Paritutu (1.75 mya).
It appears to have major eruption every 340 years with the last major eruption occurring in 1755. Mt. Taranaki is at the heart of Mt. Egmont National Park, which has heaps of tracks and even one small ski field.
It is currently considered a ‘sleeping’ active volcano.