Our Volcanoes

New Zealand's volcanoes, their most recent activity, and how we monitor them.

Tongariro and Ngauruhoe from the air.

• Auckland Volcanic Field
  The Auckland Volcanic Field is made up of 49 separate volcanoes scattered across New Zealand's largest city.
• Kermadec Islands
  The Kermadec Island chain includes Raoul Island, located 1,000 km north-east of New Zealand.
• Mayor Island
  Lying 50 km north of Tauranga, Mayor Island is the smallest caldera volcano in New Zealand.
• Ngauruhoe
  Ngauruhoe is a young cone that has grown on the south end of the Tongariro complex.
• Northland
  Northland includes the Kaikohe-Bay of Islands, Puhipuhi and Whangarei volcanic centres.
• Okataina
  The Okataina Volcanic Centre includes Tarawera, source of the most lethal eruption in New Zealand's recorded history.
• Rotorua
  Formed about 220,000 years ago, Rotorua caldera is today a lake next to one of New Zealand's major tourist destinations.
• Ruapehu
  In addition to the usual volcanic hazards, Ruapehu's Crater Lake ejects frequent lahars.
• Taupo
  The Taupo volcano last erupted over 1,800 years ago, and is today filled by New Zealand's largest lake.
• Tongariro
  The Tongariro complex contains multiple volcanic cones; the largest and most famous, Ngauruhoe, last erupted in 1975.
• Taranaki/Egmont
  Taranaki (Egmont volcano) last erupted around 1755, and dominates the productive farmland of the Taranaki region.
• White Island
  New Zealand's most active volcano, White Island, was in a state of frequent eruption from 1976 to 2000.