Volcanic History

New Zealand has a strong presence of volcanos, geysers, volcanic lakes and hot springs, making it home to some of the world’s most fascinating geothermal activity. Many of these features are clustered around the North Island, and particularly the Taupo Volcanic Zone, where the Earth’s crust is thought to be as little as 16km thick. A lot of New Zealand’s landscape can be attributed to past volcanic eruptions and these draw in many tourists each year. The Taupo Volcanic Zone extends from the centre of the Bay of Plenty region northwards to the White Island and the area is dotted with geological fault lines, geothermal activity and volcanos.

The White Island is one of the world’s most accessible live volcanos, and can be found just 49km off the coast of Whakatane, in eastern Bay of Plenty. The White Island’s peak reaches 321m above sea level, however this is just the tip of a much grander submarine mountain, with 70% of the volcano’s mass rising from the seafloor deep below.

This unique structure allows visitors a direct look into the crater complex, without the usual steep mountain climb first. Visitors look on in awe at the hot volcanic streams, gassy mud pits and lake of steaming acidic activity. The White Island volcano illuminates the skies around with the most remarkable colour display from its discharge of sulphur, rock and minerals. It’s a wonder on our doorstep and we recommend taking advantage of its accessibility and grandeur.