Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Ngauruhoe, Lake Taupo, 1991.9_Lin, E.

Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Ngauruhoe, Lake Taupo, 1991.9_Lin, E.

Lake Taup itself is a volcano, or a huge crater lake, to be exact. This volcano erupted 29 times in the last 30,000 years. When it erupted 25,600 BP (known as Ouranui Eruption), 1170 km?3 of material was ejected into the atmosphere, leaving behind the largest lake in New Zealand and the second largest in Oceania. It currently measures 616 km?2 in area and 186 m in depth. Ouranui Eruption released energy equivalent to several gigatons of TNT, or several hundred thousand to a million Hiroshima bombs. The relatively mild eruption in 232 CE ejected 100 km?3 of material into the atmosphere, causing sky to turn red according to records in China and Rome. In the last 5000 years, the eruption of Taup? in 232 CE was only equaled by eruption of Mt. Tambora in Lesser Sunda Island near Java in 1815, which caused a summerless year in 1816. Under the deceptive tranquility, Taupo is making some moves in recent years, causing interests and concerns among the geologists.