59-602: Lake Matahina is a reservoir in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand , located immediately south of the settlement of Te Mahoe and 50 km east of Rotorua . The lake was formed by the construction of the Matahina Power Station and its associated 86 m tall Matahina Dam on the Rangitaiki River , which was completed in 1967. In 1969, five children drowned after driving a car into Lake Matahina at
118-456: A camp that New Zealand author Barry Crump helped to run. Crump was charged with manslaughter over the deaths, but these charges were dropped. Fleur Adcock , one of Crump's ex-wives, said that it was negligence on his behalf that the children died. The lake has a maximum depth of 50 metres (160 ft), a relative depth of 2.8%, and an annually fluctuating water level of only 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) to 0.75 metres (2.5 ft). Upper reaches of
177-461: A further twenty-five were seriously injured, many critically . The bodies of two victims have not been recovered and may have been lost to the sea. The ongoing seismic and volcanic activity in the area and subsequently heavy rainfall as well as low visibility and toxic gases all hampered recovery efforts. Experts identified the event as a phreatic eruption : a release of steam and volcanic gases which caused an explosion, launching rock and ash into
236-461: A minimum of 28 phreatic or phreatomagmatic eruptions. In addition, prehistoric eruptions have also extruded lava. The lava flows from these prehistoric eruptions are exposed crater walls of the Central Cone. Whakaari / White Island's frequent activity and easy access attract scientists and volcanologists as well as many tourists. For example, this volcano provides a readily studied example of
295-426: A nearly continuous stage of releasing volcanic gas at least since it was sighted by James Cook in 1769. Whakaari erupted continually from December 1975 until September 2000, marking the world's longest historic eruption episode, according to GeoNet , as well as in 2012, 2016, and 2019. The latter of these resulted in 22 deaths and 25 serious injuries, primarily of tourists from a nearby cruise ship who were exploring
354-507: A prominent headland, Troup Head, at the island's southeastern extreme, and the island's southernmost point, Otaketake, which is the site of one of the island's gannet colonies. Another colony exists at Te Hokowhitu, the cliff which forms much of the western coast of the island. Several rock reefs and islets are located along the island's northeast coast, and there is also a rock reef at Troup Head. A small islet, Club Rocks, lies 800-metre (2,600 ft) south of Otaketake Point. It consists of
413-614: A result of the collapse of the former cone of the White Island Volcano, it is suspected to have generated a 7-metre (23 ft) high tsunami that flooded the coast of Bay of Plenty as much as 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) inland between 3,000 and 2,200 B.P. Whakaari / White Island lies in the northern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone . The Taupō Volcanic Zone forms the southernmost segment of the 2,800 km (1,700 mi)-long Tonga–Kermadec–Taupō volcanic arc system and
472-447: A set of four sea stacks rising to more than 20-metre (66 ft) above sea level. In addition, four sea stacks collectively known as Te Paepae o Aotea or Volkner Rocks lie 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of Whakaari / White Island. Three of these sea stacks rise precipitously from the sea floor (less than 100 metres (330 ft) below sea level) to a maximum height of 113 metres (371 ft) m above sea level. The fourth sea stack
531-571: Is a large bight along the northern coast of New Zealand 's North Island . It stretches 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi (the Ocean of Toitehuatahi) in the Māori language after Toi-te-huatahi , an early ancestor, the name 'Bay of Plenty' was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed
590-539: Is just an eroded stump. Whakaari / White Island is an andesite – dacite stratovolcano that consists of two overlapping volcanic cones, which are the Ngatoro and Central cones. The Ngatoro Cone is extinct and partially eroded. The amphitheatre -shaped Central Cone is an active cone. The crater of Central Cone is open to the southeast as the result of major, past flank landslides involving hydrothermally altered rock and past phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions .
649-509: Is just the peak of a much larger submarine volcano . The island is New Zealand's most active cone volcano , and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatāne and Tauranga . The island has been in a nearly continuous stage of releasing volcanic gas at least since it was sighted by James Cook in 1769. Whakaari erupted continually from December 1975 until September 2000, and also erupted in 2012, 2016, and 2019. Sulphur
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#1732787206223708-558: Is limited to steaming fumaroles and boiling mud, but gas and ash emissions are common, and the island is typically on an alert level rating of 1 or 2 on a scale of 0 to 5; as "Level 2 is the highest alert level before an eruption takes place and indicates 'moderate to heightened volcanic unrest' with the 'potential for eruption hazards.'" The volcano is also monitored by the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project . In March 2000, three small vents appeared in
767-600: Is not included in the boundaries of a territorial authority council (district council) and the Minister of Local Government is its territorial authority, with support from the Department of Internal Affairs . The functions of the territorial authority are limited, as the island is uninhabited, the land is undeveloped and it is privately owned. The island is within the boundaries of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for regional council functions. Whakaari / White Island
826-559: Is one of New Zealand's main breeding colonies for Australasian gannets . Thousands of gannets come to the island each year to mate, raise chicks, and feed on the fish in the water around it. There is little vegetation on the island itself, but seaweed grows in the waters around it and gannet parents harvest it to cool off chicks. An ornithologist who visited in 1912 found five species and identified four; in addition to gannets they found red-billed gulls , great-winged petrels , and white-fronted terns . BirdLife International has declared
885-513: Is ongoing as of 11 August 2024. The eruption has produced a weak plume with a low concentration of volcanic ash. In November 2019, background activity at Whakaari increased and gas, steam and mud was being ejected from the crater. At 14:11 NZDT on 9 December 2019, Whakaari / White Island erupted. It was reported that there were forty-seven people on the island when the eruption happened. Twenty-two people were killed, including two people who are missing and confirmed dead on 23 January 2020, and
944-483: The Lau Basin – Havre Trough –Ngatoro Basin back-arc basin system. For the past few thousand years, Whakaari / White Island has been the location for an open, highly reactive hydrothermal system. This hydrothermal system expresses itself as hot springs and mud pools, fumaroles , and acid streams and lakes. The present centre for volcanic activity and outgassing is a large crater lake of boiling acidic waters located in
1003-559: The Mātaatua tribes. Early Māori settlement also gave rise to many of the town and city names used today. The first recorded European contact came when James Cook sailed through the Bay of Plenty in 1769. Cook noted the abundance of food supplies, in comparison to Poverty Bay further back along the eastern coast of the North Island. Further reports of European contact are scarce prior to
1062-427: The 1914 debris avalanche . The main crater contains three coalescing sub-craters. The sub-craters are aligned NW-SE within the amphitheatre-shaped Central Cone. The open sea breaches the south-eastern crater wall in three places to form Shark, Te Awapuia, and Wilson bays, which Troup Head and Pinnacle Head separate from each other. Long-lived, semi-continuous, weak, hydrothermal explosions , similar to those occurring in
1121-536: The 1930s, because of the inadequate mineral content in the fertiliser. The remains of the buildings involved can still be seen, heavily corroded by the sulphuric gases. The ownership of Whakaari / White Island was one of the first two cases heard by the Native Land Court of New Zealand (now called the Māori Land Court ), the other being ownership of nearby Motuhora. Retireti Tapihana (Tapsell) brought
1180-549: The 1950s, as kiwifruit did later. On 5 October 2011, the MV Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef in the bay causing a large oil spill , described as New Zealand's worst ever environmental disaster. A volcanic eruption occurred on Whakaari / White Island at 14:11 on 9 December 2019, which resulted in twenty fatalities and twenty-seven injuries, most suffering severe burns. Forty-seven people were reportedly on
1239-517: The Great". In 1923, mining was again attempted but, learning from the 1914 disaster, the miners built their huts on a flat part of the island near a gannet colony. Each day they would lower their boat into the sea from a gantry, and row around to the mining factory wharf in Crater Bay. If the sea was rough they had to clamber around the rocks on a very narrow track on the crater's edge. Before
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#17327872062231298-494: The Ngatoro Cone and Central cones are both constructed of alternating layers of lava flows, tuffs , agglomerates , tephra , igneous dikes , and breccias . Some of these strata have been altered to varying degrees by highly corrosive and acid hydrothermal fluids and gases. The modern crater floor of Whakaari / White Island lies less than 30-metre (98 ft) above sea level and is largely covered by material from
1357-546: The Rangitaiki plains. While principal capture of sediment occurs at the upstream Aniwhenua dam which was completed in 1982, an increasing amount of sediment is being deposited in the deep portion of Lake Matahina. This Bay of Plenty geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a lake is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( Māori : Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi )
1416-719: The Tauranga iwi, including at the famous Battle of Gate Pā in 1864. Further conflict with the government arose in 1865 when German missionary Carl Völkner and interpreter James Fulloon were killed by local Māori at Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne, respectively. The ensuing conflict resulted in the confiscation of considerable land from several Bay of Plenty iwi by the government. Confiscation of Māori land deprived local iwi of economic resources (among other things), and also provided land for expanding European settlement. The government established fortified positions, including at Tauranga, Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki. European settlers arrived throughout
1475-479: The Western sub-crater today, are regarded to have formed these three bays as hydrothermal explosion craters . Whakaari / White Island and the sea stacks that form Club Rocks and Volckner Rocks are the emergent summits of a larger, 16 by 18 kilometres (9.9 by 11.2 mi), submarine volcano. It is known as White Island Volcano and has a total volume of 78 km (19 cu mi). The bathymetry surrounding
1534-646: The abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay . The bay is defined by 259 kilometres (161 mi) of open coastline used for economic, recreational and cultural purposes. The coastline from Waihi Beach in the west to Opape is defined as sandy coast, while the coast from Opape to Cape Runaway is rocky shore. Sizeable harbours are located at Tauranga, Whakatāne and Ohiwa. Major estuaries include Maketu , Little Waihi, Whakatāne, Waiotahe and Waioeka / Ōtara . Eight major rivers empty into
1593-566: The air. Minor ash emissions were observed on 23 and 26 December, but no further eruptions occurred. Visual observations conducted in January showed that lava had been extruded into the vents created by the eruption on 9 December. The Māori name Whakaari is recorded in multiple 19th century texts by Europeans, with one mention dating back to 1849, though spelling varied including Wakaari, Whakari, and Whaka ari. The name Whakaari means "to make visible" or "exposed to view". The full Māori name for
1652-553: The arrival of missionary Samuel Marsden to the Tauranga area in 1814. Bay whaling stations operated in the bay during the 19th century. During the 1820s and 1830s, northern iwi including Ngā Puhi invaded the Bay of Plenty during their campaign throughout the North Island, fighting local Māori tribes in what became known as the Musket Wars . However, the 1830s and 1840s saw increased contact between Bay of Plenty Māori and Europeans through trade, although few Europeans settled in
1711-530: The bay from inland catchments, including the Wairoa , Kaituna , Tarawera , Rangitaiki , Whakatane , Waioeka , Motu and Raukokore rivers. The bay contains numerous islands, notably the active andesite stratovolcano Whakaari / White Island . Whakaari is New Zealand's most active cone volcano , and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatāne and Tauranga . The island has been in
1770-495: The case in 1867, claiming ownership. Retireti was the son of Phillip Tapsell and Hine-i-tūrama Ngātiki . Ownership was awarded jointly to Retireti Tapihana and his sister Katherine Simpkins. In 1874, the island was sold to the partnership John Wilson and William Kelly by the estate of Retireti Tapihana (Tapsell). Wilson and Kelly subsequently leased it to the Auckland-based partnership of Stewart and Appleby, but after
1829-581: The conditions of the lease were unfulfilled, it was put up for lease again. The island is now privately owned by the Buttle family trust, having been bought by George Raymond Buttle, a stockbroker, in 1936. Buttle later refused to sell it to the government, but agreed in 1952 that it be declared a private scenic reserve. In 2012, the island's title was transferred to the Whakaari Trust, whose shareholders are Peter, Andrew and James Buttle. The island
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1888-421: The crater on the southern side of Troup Head and towards the southeast. It produced well-defined boulder-covered lobes on the seafloor. Another debris flow exited the modern crater on the northern side of Troup Head and through several submarine valleys towards the east into deep water. It produced boulder-covered valley-fill deposits. The latter debris flow was large enough to have produced a significant tsunami. As
1947-424: The days of antibiotics , sulphur was used as an antibacterial agent in medicines, in the making of match-heads, and for sterilising wine corks. The sulphur was hauled to the crushing plant in small rail trucks, and a bagging facility was also constructed. However, there was not enough sulphur in the material mined at the island, so the ground-up rock was used as a component of agricultural fertiliser. Mining ended in
2006-422: The descendent iwi maintain their traditional homelands ( rohe ) in the region, including Te Whānau-ā-Apanui , Te Whakatōhea , Ngāi Tai , Ngāi Tūhoe , Ngāti Awa , Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, Te Arawa , Ngāi Te Rangi , Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga . Māori named the bay Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi (the Ocean of Toitehuatahi), or Te Moana-a-Toi for short, after Toi-te-huatahi , an early ancestor of
2065-419: The emergent summit of Whakaari / White Island consists of a broad, sloping shelf extending from sea level to approximately 80-metre (260 ft) depth. Steep margins define the extent of the submarine volcano at a depths of 300–400-metre (980–1,310 ft) The amphitheatre-shaped crater of the modern Central Cone is argued to have been created by the collapse of the former cone of the White Island Volcano to
2124-405: The end of the century the population had started to dwindle. But after experimenting with different crops, settlers found success with dairy production. Dairy factories sprang up across the Bay of Plenty in the 1900s, with butter and cheese feeding economic prosperity throughout the early 20th century; local Māori continued to live on the fringe of this prosperity. Timber also became a major export in
2183-400: The fire was kindled on Whakaari and brought to him. Other versions of this story are similar but it is his sisters, or the gods, who send him warmth from Whakaari. Other stories give origin stories for the island. One states that it rose from the deep after the god Māui , having first touched fire was so greatly tortured by the pain that he instantly dived under water to calm his pain; and in
2242-455: The first. Whakaari / White Island is an irregular oval in shape, with a length (northwest–southeast) of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) and a width of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), and covers an area of approximately 325 hectares (800 acres). It lies in the Bay of Plenty 48 kilometres (30 mi) from the North Island mainland, due north of the town of Ōpōtiki and north-northeast of Whakatāne . The island's active crater lies slightly southeast of
2301-399: The island at the time. Whakaari / White Island is roughly circular, about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter, and rises to a height of 321 m (1,053 ft) above sea level. It covers an area of approximately 325 ha (800 acres). The exposed island is only the peak of a much larger submarine volcano , which rises up to 1,600 m (5,249 ft) above the nearby seafloor. Sulphur
2360-469: The island is te puia whakaari , meaning "The Dramatic Volcano". Whakaari was named "White Island" by Captain Cook on 1 November 1769, Cook noted in his journal I have named it White Island because as such it always appeared to us . According to LINZ this name came from the dense clouds of white steam emanating from it. Alternatively, he may have been alluding to the guano deposits that once covered
2419-439: The island showed signs of increased activity with lake and gas levels rising from inside the crater. On 5 August 2012 a minor eruption occurred, sending ash into the air. More eruptions have followed since. Ongoing volcanic activity and tremors on 25 January 2013 suggested another eruption was imminent. A small eruption occurred on 20 August 2013 at 10:23 am, lasting for ten minutes and producing mostly steam. A minor eruption
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2478-536: The island to be an Important Bird Area because of the gannets' nesting colony. Whakaari / White Island is privately owned. It was declared a private scenic reserve in 1953, and is subject to the provisions of the Reserves Act 1977 . Visitors cannot land without permission. However, it is easily accessible by authorised tourist operators. The waters surrounding the island are well known for their fish stocks. Yellowtail kingfish abound all year, while there
2537-544: The island when it erupted. A second eruption closely followed the first. Whakaari Whakaari / White Island ( [faˈkaːɾi] , Māori : Te Puia Whakaari , lit. "the dramatic volcano" ), also known as White Island or Whakaari , is an active andesite stratovolcano situated 48 km (30 mi) from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand , in the Bay of Plenty . The island covers an area of approximately 325 ha (800 acres), which
2596-405: The island's centre, and contains an acidic lake. The crater has a sharp rim to the northwest, with its highest point (also the island's highest point) being the 321-metre (1,053 ft) Mount Gisborne in the west. The 283-metre (928 ft) Mount Percival forms the northern part of the rim. An older vent, the 310-metre (1,020 ft) Mount Ngatoro, lies to the northwest. The exposed island is only
2655-496: The island. Although Cook sailed close to the island, he did not record that it was a volcano. The island's official name was changed from "White Island (Whakaari)" to "Whakaari / White Island" in 1997. This makes it one of many places in New Zealand with dual Māori and English names. Some Māori myths describe Whakaari as part of Ngātoro-i-rangi 's ascent of Tongariro. In one account, he called on his ancestors for warmth;
2714-470: The lake are shallow (1 to 4 m), with a sinuous channel constricted by a narrow ignimbrite gorge. As the gorge widens down lake, the depth increases to15 metres (49 ft) along a delta front, and to 40 metres (130 ft) to 50 metres (160 ft) in the basin immediately behind the dam. The lake's operating levels are as follows: Since its creation the Matahina dam has acted as an effective barrier to
2773-399: The late seventies to the mid-eighties, explosive eruptions at Whakaari / White Island are typically phreatic or phreatomagmatic in style. The lava flows, ash , and pyroclastic flows produced by historic and prehistoric eruptions are andesitic and dacitic in composition. These eruptions also produce discrete craters within crater-fill deposits of the Central Cone. Since 1826, there has been
2832-458: The latter half of the 19th century, establishing settlements in Katikati , Te Puke and the Rangitaiki area. In 1876, settlements were incorporated into counties following the nationwide dissolution of the provincial system. Initial settlements in the region struggled: the climate was ill-suited to sheep farming and the geography was inaccessible, further hindered by a lack of infrastructure. By
2891-424: The main crater and began belching ash which covered the island in fine grey powder. An eruption on 27 July 2000 blanketed the island with mud and scoria and a new crater appeared. Major eruptions in 1981–83 altered much of the island's landscape and destroyed the extensive pōhutukawa forest. The large crater created at that time now contains a lake , whose level varies substantially. Between July and August 2012
2950-490: The mid-1880s, again from 1898 to 1901, and then from 1913 to 1914, to mine sulphur from Whakaari / White Island, with the island at first being owned by John Wilson . Mining came to a halt in September 1914, when part of the western crater rim collapsed, creating a lahar that killed all 10 workers, who disappeared without a trace. Only a camp cat survived, found some days afterwards by the resupply ship and dubbed "Peter
3009-413: The peak of a much larger submarine volcano , which rises up to 1,600 m (5,249 ft) above the nearby seafloor. The island is generally rugged, with cliffs surrounding most of the coast. The only exceptions are to the southeast of the crater, where ash and boulder slopes descend to Te Awapuia Bay (also known as Crater Bay), the site of derelict buildings and the island's wharf. This bay lies between
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#17327872062233068-568: The place where he shook the fire from him arose Whakaari. Another tells that Moutohora Island and Whakaari / White Island were peaks in the Huiarau Range near Waikaremoana but were jealous of each other, and rushed towards the ocean, leaving behind them the tracks that now form the Whakatane valley and either the Tauranga or Te Waimana valley. Whakaari was faster, so got to the better position where it stands today. Attempts were made in
3127-585: The region. Missionary activity in the region also increased during this time. In 1853, New Zealand was subdivided into provinces , with the Bay of Plenty incorporated into Auckland Province . Conflict returned to the Bay of Plenty during the 1860s with the New Zealand Wars . Initially this stemmed from Tauranga iwi supporting the Waikato iwi in their conflict with the government. In retaliation, British Crown and government-allied Māori forces attacked
3186-470: The seaward movement of sediment by the Rangitaiki River. Pre-dam annual discharge figures for suspended and bed load sediment near the river mouth were about 201 000 and 188 000 tonne respectively, but equivalent post-dam values have dropped to 65 000 and 10 000 tonne. This trapping of sediment has halted or substantially reduced the downstream historical rising river bed and coastal progradation of
3245-422: The southwest. Based on extrapolating 20 m GIS contour data to enclose the present crater and upwards with a maximum slope angle of 30°, the former pre-collapse summit was inferred to have been 500–600-metre (1,600–2,000 ft) high. Side-scan and bathymetric data indicate possible debris flows associated with its collapse that can be traced back to the current crater on White Island. One of these debris flows exited
3304-465: The type of volcanic magmatic–hydrothermal system involved in the generation of porphyry copper deposits . Volcanologists from the GeoNet Project continually monitor the volcano's activity via surveillance cameras. Survey pegs, magnetometers and seismography equipment for early earthquake warnings via radio were installed on the crater walls in 1976. At most times the volcanic activity
3363-510: The western subcrater. The intermixing mélange of marine waters, meteoric waters, and hot magmatic fluids generate acid brines, with pH as low as 2, that outgas and form numerous and often transitory hot springs and mud pools, fumaroles, and acid streams and lakes. The crater lake of boiling acidic water, which occupies the western subcrater, appears to vary in volume due to changing meteorological conditions and fluctuating levels of hydrothermal activity. Although Strombolian activity occurred from
3422-454: Was mined on the island until the 1930s. Ten miners were killed in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed. A large eruption occurred at 14:11 on 9 December 2019, which resulted in 22 fatalities, including two people who were missing and ruled to be dead by a coroner. Twenty-five survivors were injured, many critically and with severe burns. Forty-seven people were reportedly on the island when it erupted. A second eruption closely followed
3481-519: Was mined on the island until the 1930s. Ten miners were killed in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed. The Bay of Plenty has a temperate , maritime climate, with warm, humid summers and mild winters. According to local Māori traditions , the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. These include the Mātaatua , Nukutere , Tākitimu , Arawa and Tainui canoes. Many of
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