1. Mount Ruapehu Sean Fitzpatrick & Gabe Harrington
Department of Geology, Colby College

2. Basic Information “Ruapehu” means ‘pit of noise’ or ‘exploding pit’
Active Stratovolcano
Located in New Zealand
Last erupted in September, 2007

3. Geographic & Tectonic Setting
Tongariro National Park - North Island, New Zealand
39.28°S °E
Taupo Volcanic Zone
Located on the edge of the Australian plate, bordering the Pacific Plate.
Pacific Ring of Fire

4. Form & Features Stratovolcano (Composite Cone Volcano) Summit at 2797m
Three cones, two vents, one tuff ring
Five craters, one maar
One active vent
Crater Lake

5. Eruptions Erupted first 250,000 years ago and most recently in 2007
Known for lahars and the resulting volcanic hazards

6. Rocks and Deposits
Surrounding land before volcano - marine siltstone, sandstone, and limestone
Volcano comprised primarily of andesite
Ring plain formed around volcano
picture: NASA/GSFC/METI/Japan Space Systems,
and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

7. Rocks and Deposits
Early formations - mostly porphyritic basic andesites
metamorphic and igneous rock intrusions
Composition of lava changed over time
includes olivine basalt, dacite
Volcanic deposits were formed from lava flows, tuff breccias, lahar deposits, airfall pyroclastics, & pyroclastic flows
thick layers of pumice on surface

8. ←Lava Flows Pyroclastic Flows→

9. Other Interesting Information
Popular skiing and hiking destination
Place in popular culture
Only place glaciers can be found on North Island

10. Bibliography GNS Science, 2010: Ruapehu Geology, at
olcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Ruapehu-Geology (accessed 23 January, 2015)
GNS Science, 2013: Ruapehu, at
oes/Ruapehu (accessed 23 January, 2015)
GNS Science, 2010: About Ruapehu, at
oes/Ruapehu/About-Ruapehu (accessed 23 January, 2015)
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of National History Global Volcanism Program,
2013: Ruapehu, at (accessed 23
January, 2015)
Volcano Live, 2013: Ruapehu Volcano - John Seach, at
(accessed 23 January, 2015)
New Zealand Tourism Guide, 2015: Ruapehu Regional Information, at
nformation.html (accessed 23 January, 2015)
New Zealand Geothermal Association, 2013: New Zealand Geothermal Fields, at
(accessed 23 January, 2015)
Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2013: Historic Volcanic Activity, at
(accessed 23 Janaury, 2015)