Mt Tongariro erupts after 100 years (NZ)

[Thinking Aloud]

I walked over this one in 2002.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7426862 ... -100-years

[Clinton Huxley]

So it is your fault then.

[Thinking Aloud]

I stamped really hard.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

[Blind groper]

When I studied geology at university, my professor told us that Mount Tongariro had a very wide perimeter, and an outer slope that, if it were extended up like a conical peak, would be higher than Mount Everest. Basically, the signs are that it blew itself to pieces at some stage in a truly titanic eruption.

I have since moved north till I am now 600 kilometres away. Do you think I am safe?

[Bella Fortuna]

Another geologist?! That makes at least three here!

[Blind groper]

Nah.

I am a mock geologist. Did a bit at university. Enough to sometimes appear to be knowledgeable. But I was always good at faking it.

[pErvinalia]

Cool! (for those not living in the immediate vicinity)

[pErvinalia]

Blind Groper... you should see what you can find out about the Mt Warning shield volcano in Australia. I don't know the actual geology of it, but it is essentially the remnants of a volcano that was hundreds of kilometers in width. If that was all one volcano, it would have been immense in height before it blew up / eroded.

[Atheist-Lite]

Middle Earth is a excellent place and so many houses underground.

[Thinking Aloud]

When I studied geology at university, my professor told us that Mount Tongariro had a very wide perimeter, and an outer slope that, if it were extended up like a conical peak, would be higher than Mount Everest. Basically, the signs are that it blew itself to pieces at some stage in a truly titanic eruption.

The whole area is very volcanic. The truly enormous eruption in the area was where Lake Taupo now lies (in its caldera) just to the north of Tongariro. Here's the Wikipedia entry for the Taupo Volcanic Zone... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taupo_Volcano

[pErvinalia]

[off topic]Mt Warning Shield Volcano

The biggest erosion caldera in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest calderas in the world, it is one of the world's great natural wonders, and also one of the few places where the erosion process can be seen to the underlying pre-volcanic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, providing enthusiasts with a wonderful opportunity to test their knowledge of geological processes.
....
When the volcano finished it's eruptions about 20 million years ago, the volcano had risen to a height of over 2 kilometres. Layers of ash and lava had been deposited over its outward slopes, to a diameter of about 100 kilometres.

Not as tall or wide as I imagined. But still pretty big.
[/off topic]

[Thinking Aloud]

Also to the north of Taupo is Mt Tarawera, which I found particularly interesting when I was there, because of the relatively recent and well-documented eruption (1886), as well as being able to still see its effects on the surrounding countryside. Close by were the pink and white terraces, silicious formations created by hot springs fed by the volcanic activity below.



The Tarawera eruption was some 17 kilometers long, stretching from the mountain itself (which now has a spectacular gash along its top) through many of the volcanic zones to the north. The whole area was changed by the eruption - the lake was drained, the landscape reshaped, and a larger deeper lake later formed in place of the old. The terraces were lost and believed to be destroyed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_and_White_Terraces

Interestingly, a 2011 survey of the lake appears to have located some sections of the terraces still intact on the lake bed 60m down. I doubt they'll be draining the lake any time soon to uncover them, though!

[Blind groper]

Mount Tarawera makes a nice outing, with a climb to the crater. I have done it several times. The crater is a long groove, lined with red volcanic ash. Which leads me to the Maori language.

The word 'Tarawera' is two words run together. Tara and Wera. The word Tara has many meanings depending on context, and what I am about to say is a little controversial. The word Wera has but one meaning - hot.

One of the meanings of the word 'Tara' relates to female reproductive anatomy. The Maori did not beat about the bush when naming things. They tended to call a spade a spade, and when something looked anatomical, they did not hesitate with an appropriate piece of terminology.

[JimC]

Mount Tarawera makes a nice outing, with a climb to the crater. I have done it several times. The crater is a long groove, lined with red volcanic ash. Which leads me to the Maori language.

The word 'Tarawera' is two words run together. Tara and Wera. The word Tara has many meanings depending on context, and what I am about to say is a little controversial. The word Wera has but one meaning - hot.

One of the meanings of the word 'Tara' relates to female reproductive anatomy. The Maori did not beat about the bush when naming things. They tended to call a spade a spade, and when something looked anatomical, they did not hesitate with an appropriate piece of terminology.