The Volcanic Belt
As fissures open up in an eruption, such as with Tarawera, water makes contact with the superheated magma creating hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of steam. The pressure builds and builds until finally it explodes with devastating power.
The Mt Tarawera eruption of 1886 was triggered by an earthquake, it opened a fissure in the earth. Near by Lake Rotomahana drained into the magma core and the resulting explosion was heard 300 km away. If you've ever stuck a hot frying pan under a cold tap, you can imagine the results from mixing a lake and a magma core!
New Zealand's geothermal faults occurred when cracks emerged in the earths crust. These cracks are still active and they are caused by the tectonic plates buckling as they push against each other. The Pacific place is being pushed under the indo-australian plate causing it to bend beneath it, buckle and crack. In the South Island the force of the plates is pushing upwards creating the Southern Alps. New Zealand's volcano's are part of the pacific ring of fire which runs from the San Andreas fault line in California, through Rapanui (the Easter Islands), New Zealand, back up through Indonesia, Japan , the Aleutian Archipelago and back to California.
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Did you know?
The East Cape of the North Island is one of the most rugged and rustic parts of New Zealand. The winding roads are dotted with stone beaches and rocky coves intermingled with a cast of sandy bays. Life on the cape runs at a very different pace and it's easy to see why.
» Check out more information about the East Cape
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