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

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_VolcanoBlind groper wrote: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.
http://www.bigvolcano.com.au/natural/wollum.htm wrote: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.
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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.
Blind groper wrote: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.
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