haruspex
Dragon's Foot Fumarole, White Island
White Island (Whakāri), 48km offshore from NZ, is the northernmost active volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone - a 250km-long zone of intense volcanism that marks the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.
The island has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. About 70 percent of the volcano is under the sea, making this massive volcanic structure the largest in New Zealand. The 321-m-high island consists of two overlapping andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcanoes.
Intermittent moderate phreatomagmatic and strombolian eruptions have occurred at White Island throughout the short historical period beginning in 1826, but its activity also forms a prominent part of Maori legends. Formation of many new vents during the 19th and 20th centuries has produced rapid changes in crater floor topography.
A sulphur mining venture began on the island in 1885; this was stopped abruptly in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed and a landslide destroyed the sulphur mine and miners' village; twelve lives were lost.
The most recent eruption occured in 2000. A new vent developed and began to emit ash. An eruption occurred late in July which covered the crater area in scoria, also displacing the main crater lake and forming a new explosion crater 150 m across.
Dragon's Foot Fumarole, White Island
White Island (Whakāri), 48km offshore from NZ, is the northernmost active volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone - a 250km-long zone of intense volcanism that marks the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.
The island has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. About 70 percent of the volcano is under the sea, making this massive volcanic structure the largest in New Zealand. The 321-m-high island consists of two overlapping andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcanoes.
Intermittent moderate phreatomagmatic and strombolian eruptions have occurred at White Island throughout the short historical period beginning in 1826, but its activity also forms a prominent part of Maori legends. Formation of many new vents during the 19th and 20th centuries has produced rapid changes in crater floor topography.
A sulphur mining venture began on the island in 1885; this was stopped abruptly in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed and a landslide destroyed the sulphur mine and miners' village; twelve lives were lost.
The most recent eruption occured in 2000. A new vent developed and began to emit ash. An eruption occurred late in July which covered the crater area in scoria, also displacing the main crater lake and forming a new explosion crater 150 m across.