Te Maari Craters, Mt Tongariro. New Zealand.
S 39° 01.330 E 175° 38.840
60H E 382904 N 5679893
After laying dormant for 115 years, Te Maari craters erupted in August and November of 2012 and are still billowing steam and gas from the vents, providing interesting viewing for volcano watchers.
Waymark Code: WMG7H4
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 01/25/2013
Views: 5
Mt Tongariro, a volcano in the Tongariro National Park, Central North Island, is made up of a complex of craters that have been active at different periods. In 1868, violent earthquakes marked the eruption that formed the upper Te Maari crater, named after a Maori chieftainess. Upper Te Maari erupted again in 1896–97, dumping 50 millimetres of ash on the Desert Road, and wafting ash as far as Napier.
More recently, the Te Maari Craters on the northern slopes of Mt Tongariro sprang into action again and erupted for the first time in over a century on August 6, 2012 raining ash onto many Central North Island (NZ) roads and homes close to the mountain. The August 6 eruption generated an ash cloud 6.1km high, and which was reported as 25km long and 15km wide just 39 minutes after the eruption. The ash cloud traveled 250km in four hours and contained about 10000 cubic metres of ash. Sections of the SH46 and SH1 roads, to the north and east of the mountain respectively, received up to 5cm of ash. There were several visible steam vents active at the Te Maari craters after this eruption in August 2012.
Then even more recently, another small amount of ash and gas erupted again from the Te Maari Crater on Mount Tongariro, at 1:30 pm Wednesday 21 November 2012. The ash ejected 4 km above the vent, and was blown in a very light wind in a north – north east direction towards the Kaimanawa Ranges. Volcanic hazards to people on the ground were contained within a 200 metre radius of the vent. No further eruptions have followed although gas and steam and sometimes light ash is still escaping from the vents.
On a clear day, the steaming craters can be seen clearly from SH.47, the highway running between Turangi and the Chateau. Cloud may obscure the crater area on overcast days.
Best viewing places are at the given co-ords of S 39° 01.330 E 175° 38.840 where there is room to park on the roadside, or further south at S 39° 03.830 E 175° 34.560
Co-ords for Mt Tongariro are: S 39° 07.800 E 175° 39.000