Rotorua Caldera | |
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NASA image of the caldera. The town of Rotorua is south of the lake that fills much of the apparently circular caldera. The caldera is a more complex shape with areas of collapse and the Tikitere Graben at its outlet. Mount Tarawera is in the lower right corner south east of the caldera and it and the lakes to the east are features of the adjacent active Ōkataina Caldera. The eruption products are thickest towards the north east. | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 757 m (2,484 ft) |
Coordinates | 38°05′S 176°16′E / 38.08°S 176.27°E |
Dimensions | |
Width | 22 kilometres (14 mi)[1] |
Geography | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Bay of Plenty |
Geology | |
Rock age | |
Mountain type | Caldera |
Volcanic arc/belt | Taupō Volcanic Zone |
Last eruption | < 25,000 years ago[3] |
The Rotorua Caldera is a large rhyolitic caldera that is filled by Lake Rotorua. It was formed by an eruption 240,000 years ago that produced extensive pyroclastic deposits. Smaller eruptions have occurred in the caldera since, the most recent less than 25,000 years ago. It is one of several large volcanoes in the Taupō Volcanic Zone on the North Island of New Zealand.