white island new zealand

This bay lies between a prominent headland, Troup Head, at the island's southeastern extreme, and the island's southernmost point, Otaketake, which is the site of one of the island's gannet colonies. Whakaari / White Island is an irregular oval in shape, with a length (northwest–southeast) of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) and a width of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), and covers an area of approximately 325 hectares (800 acres). Whakaari/White Island is one of New Zealand’s most active volcanos, situated 48km off the coast of Whakatane in the North Island. Whakaari / White Island is an active andesite stratovolcano, situated 48 km (30 mi) off the north-northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand in the Bay of Plenty. Some Māori myths describe Whakaari as part of Ngātoro-i-rangi's ascent of Tongariro. Formed primarily about 900,00 years ago the crater which you can tour is the smaller of what were originally two craters. On 5 August 2012 a minor eruption occurred,[23] sending ash into the air. [46], The island is not included in the boundaries of a territorial authority council (district council) and the Minister of Local Government is its territorial authority, with support from the Department of Internal Affairs. The lava flows, ash, and pyroclastic flows produced by historic and prehistoric eruptions are andesitic and dacitic in composition. Privacy Notice [45], The island is privately owned by the Buttle Family Trust.

[25] A small eruption occurred on 20 August 2013 at 10.23 am, lasting for ten minutes and producing mostly steam. The sub-craters are aligned NW-SE within the amphitheatre-shaped Central Cone. According to LINZ this name came from the dense clouds of white steam emanating from it. [1] Although Cook sailed close to the island, he did not record that it was a volcano.[37]. [26], In November 2019, background activity at Whakaari increased and gas, steam and mud was being ejected from the crater. The volcano has erupted many times in recent history, including several times in the 1980s. [49] Thousands of gannets come to the island each year to mate, raise chicks, and feed on the fish in the water around it. Whakaari/White Island is one of New Zealand’s most active volcanos, situated 48km off the coast of Whakatane in the North Island. In addition, four sea stacks collectively known as Volckner Rocks lie 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of Whakaari / White Island. 52,672, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved The amphitheatre-shaped Central Cone is an active cone. [20] The island is typically on an alert level rating of 1 or 2 on a scale of 0 to 5; as "Level 2 is the highest alert level before an eruption takes place and indicates 'moderate to heightened volcanic unrest' with the 'potential for eruption hazards. We use cookies to provide you with a better experience on this site.

It produced boulder-covered valley-fill deposits. [27][28], At 14:11 NZDT[29] on 9 December 2019, Whakaari / White Island erupted. Your California Privacy Rights The crater lake of boiling acidic water, which occupies the western subcrater, appears to vary in volume due to changing meteorological conditions and fluctuating levels of hydrothermal activity. The crater has a sharp rim to the northwest, with its highest point (also the island's highest point) being the 321-metre (1,053 ft) Mount Gisborne in the west.

Three of these sea stacks rise precipitously from the sea floor (less than 100 metres (330 ft) below sea level) to a maximum height of 113 metres (371 ft) m above sea level. More like what island. We also use cookies to show you the best of New Zealand on other platforms. Christenson, B.W., White, S., Britten, K. and Scott, B.J., 2017. [48], Whakaari / White Island is one of New Zealand's main breeding colonies for Australasian gannets. Whakaari / White Island ( [faˈkaːɾi]; also known as just White Island) is an active andesite stratovolcano situated 48 km (30 mi) from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. Retireti Tapihana (Tapsell) brought the case in 1867, claiming ownership. Heap, M.J., Kennedy, B.M., Farquharson, J.I., Ashworth, J., Mayer, K., Letham-Brake, M., Reuschlé, T., Gilg, H.A., Scheu, B., Lavallée, Y. and Siratovich, P., 2017. Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said the death toll was likely to rise. Dramatic footage of New Zealand’s White Island volcano eruption that claimed at least five lives shows a towering plume of smoke and ash seemingly blocking out the roughly 1¼-square-mile island. [6] A small islet, Club Rocks, lies 800-metre (2,600 ft) south of Otaketake Point. The main activities on the island now include guided tours and scientific research.

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