68-752: The Waikato Plains (the alternative name Waikato Basin is an ambiguous term as it can refer to the entire river catchment) form a large area of low-lying land in the northwest of the North Island of New Zealand . They are the alluvial plains of the Waikato River , the country's longest river with a length of 425 km (264 mi). The plains can be divided roughly into the Middle Waikato Plain (also Middle Waikato Basin Hamilton Basin ), extending in all directions around
136-631: A large scale during the Great Depression . After World War II scientists from Norway settled in the region and helped develop ways of treating the soft pine to prevent rotting using pressure treatment with chemicals. They also introduced selective breeding methods which was the standard way of improving the trees until tissue culture was introduced in the 1990s. Trees take 25–30 years to reach full height. Most plantations use growth factor (GF) trees to guarantee very high quality (straight and knot-free) timber, however treatment by chemical salts
204-531: A little longer period which might have lasted several years. As is typical after such degassing events which are separated in considerable time, dome building by effusive eruption of low gas viscous rhyolite magma then occurred resulting in this case the formation of the Horomatangi Reefs about 200 years later. Another example in Lake Taupo of such a volcanic dome is Motutaiko Island and towards
272-658: A major threat to natural habitats there. One block of lowland forest remains in and around Whanganui National Park and large areas of the uplands are protected either by Maori tradition or in national parks of which Te Urewera is the largest. The four North Island national parks, which surround the plateau, are Te Urewera, Whanganui, Egmont and New Zealand's first national park, the World Heritage listed Tongariro National Park . Introduced species and livestock grazing are now major threats to some endemic species. Rats, cats and stoats prey on native reptiles and birds (including
340-406: A moderate amount of silica , making it more viscous than basalt , but much less viscous than rhyolite . Andesite magma in effusive eruptions cools to form dark grey lava if gas-poor or scoria if gas-rich. The explosive eruptions tend to be small or moderate sized phreatomagmatic eruptions where the hot magma turns water into steam and the magma into ash. Northwest of Ruapehu is Hauhungatahi
408-591: A rough air strip. Hunting range in the bush is often 50 m or less but in the open tops the range can be much further. The area to the south, around Lake Moawhango is richer in plant life. Finally there are areas of beech forest and alpine vegetation at higher elevations throughout the region. The northern side of the plateau especially is home to wildlife including birds such as the North Island kōkako wattlebird (Callaeas wilsoni) , New Zealand kaka , and large populations of brown kiwi (Apteryx australis) and blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) . The area to
476-563: A similar issue in cattle in Australia. However the application of cobalt at the rate of 30cc per ha was only possible after World War II making use of war surplus planes and ex WW2 pilots for aerial topdressing . The cobalt was mixed with crushed phosphate rock which was obtained cheaply from Nauru Island in the West Pacific. The resulting mix was called Super Phosphate. The largest farm - as measured by effective area farmed - in
544-709: A whole. During the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South islands were connected by a vast coastal plain which formed at the South Taranaki Bight . During this period, most of the North Island was covered in thorn scrubland and forest , while the modern-day Northland Peninsula was a subtropical rainforest . Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating
612-476: Is an economic mainstay of the region with a wide range of largely outdoor attractions from trout fishing , flyfishing on Tongariro River or harling on Lake Taupō, tramping , Mountain biking centred on National Park, deer or pig hunting, horse riding to snowskiing/boarding on Mt Ruapehu. The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand is located on the site of an old Italian tunneling construction camp. Started by mountaineer Graeme Dingle in
680-675: Is at Tokoroa. The tangata whenua are the Ngāti Tūwharetoa . Their paramount chief is Sir Tumu te Heuheu . They moved into this area after splitting away from the Arawa tribe on the east coast. The boundary between Arawa and Tuwharetoa is a small island 400 metres north of Huka Falls on the Waikato River . Their main marae is on the southern shores of Lake Taupō at Waihi near the Tokaanu geothermal area. They still retain ownership of
748-465: Is in the North Island", "my mother lives in the North Island". Maps, headings, tables, and adjectival expressions use North Island without "the". According to Māori mythology , the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui . Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it right up from
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#1732791892625816-431: Is not included in the power scheme due to its importance as a breeding area for brown and rainbow trout. The extra water boosted the amount of water available to the 10 other HEP stations on the Waikato River which flows from the north end of the lake and is its only exit. The productivity of pasture on the plateau was greatly improved in the 1950s once it was realised that the " bush sickness " suffered by local livestock
884-474: Is one of the two main islands of New Zealand , separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait . With an area of 113,729 km (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island , constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 4,077,800 (June 2024), which is 76% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and
952-445: Is rich in silicon , potassium , and sodium . It is the gas -rich material ejected from the ground at high speed in an explosive caldera-forming event, creating a giant white hot fountain up to 55 kilometres high. When the ignimbrite falls it flows outwards at high speed (600–900 km/h) and can travel many kilometres, even going up and over hills and mountains before it cools, often trapping air inside. Especially around Lake Taupō
1020-484: Is still required to stop rotting. This is done by either dipping or more usually, pressure treatment. New Zealand has pioneered the use of Radiata timber and plywood in small craft boatbuilding. Untreated clear timber or plywood is used that is then encapsulated in epoxy resin after construction. The key reason is the low cost of the wood rather than any inherent properties of the wood which is of moderate weight but fractures easily when bent, when dried to 12% moisture. One of
1088-588: Is the volcanic Mount Pihanga . The western boundary of the plateau forms an escarpment beside the Mamaku and Kaimai Ranges , but further south is less distinct. In the east, the plateau runs up to the foot of the Ahimanawa , Kaweka and the fertile Kaimanawa mountain ranges. West of the plateau stands the volcano Taranaki Maunga (in Egmont National Park ). Two of the country's longest rivers,
1156-589: Is visible from the approach road to Whakapapa ski field. On Christmas Eve 1953 a sudden lahar at night on Mt Ruapehu knocked out the rail bridge at Tangiwai , causing six carriages of the Wellington - Auckland express to plunge into the Whangaehu River , killing 151 people in New Zealand's worst railway disaster. The percentage of silica is the deciding factor in the thickness or viscosity of
1224-552: The Taupō caldera complex , Ōkataina caldera complex and Tongariro Volcanic Centre resulting in it being currently the most frequently active and productive area of silicic volcanism on Earth. New Zealand is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire . The plateau is approximately 60 km (37 mi) east–west and the north–south distance is about 125 km (78 mi). Extensive ignimbrite sheets spread east and west from
1292-448: The 28th-most-populous island in the world. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei , Auckland , Hamilton , Tauranga , Rotorua , Gisborne , New Plymouth , Napier , Hastings , Whanganui , Palmerston North , and New Zealand's capital city Wellington , which is located at the south-west tip of the island. The island has been known internationally as
1360-681: The Kaingaroa Forest or by working on the extensive hydro electric power system. The Māori population during the Archaic period was sparse. Only two moa hunter period sites have been discovered to date. The best known is the Whakamoenga cave near Taupō. The cave was in use about 600 years ago and three moa bones, obsidian flakes, hollow pumice stone ash holders, pumice floats, a fishing net, bird spears, pieces of hue (gourd) and bracken remains have been found. The other moa hunter site
1428-625: The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (160-120 Ma ). The Hamilton Basin originally formed under water so marine Pliocene beds underlie Quaternary deposits that date from about 1.8 million years ago. The oldest deposits are called the Puketoka Formation which contains clays , sands , breccias and ignimbrite sheets from pyroclastic flow reaching the basin. The younger Waerenga Gravels are composed of weathered greywacke debris presumably deposited in fans extending from
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#17327918926251496-506: The North Island for many years. The Te Reo Māori name for it, Te Ika-a-Māui , also has official recognition but it remains seldom used by most residents. On some 19th-century maps, the North Island is named New Ulster (named after Ulster province in northern Ireland) which was also a province of New Zealand that included the North Island. In 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with
1564-574: The Tasman Sea near Port Waikato . This means the recent sedimentary deposits near the river are mainly altered volcanics washed down from the North Island Volcanic Plateau and broken down volcanic soils but there are layers of tephra /breccia from the many significant rhyolitic eruptions to the south where recent river flooding has not been disruptive. Layers of the fifteen layer Kauroa Ash Formation are found within both
1632-599: The Whanganui and the Waikato have their headwaters on the plateau. The tallest mountain, Ruapehu , is an andesite cone that was somewhat higher but has been eroded with a 150 km (36 cu mi) cone and 150 km (36 cu mi) ring-plain. It is typical of the Tongariro Volcanic Centre whose landforms are defined by the intermediate properties of its andesite magma , having
1700-415: The crater lake water is ejected from Ruapehu during an eruption, or snow melt is released by failure of the crater walls such as failure of an ice dam. separate from an eruptive event. In the case of lahars, they run down the mountain, picking up ash , lapilli , blocks and bombs as well as previously eroded rock, forming a thick, dense mud that is capable of picking up car-sized rocks. An old lahar flow
1768-416: The 1970s, this centre offers valuable outdoor training experience and skills to secondary school groups and others. The Raurimu Spiral is a railway spiral traveling upwards 122 m (400 ft) in 1.6 km (0.99 mi), via tunnels and 180-degree hairpin bends so the passengers near the head of the train can see the rear carriages heading in the opposite direction. At the time of construction it
1836-590: The 2023 census, 63.1% of North Islanders identified as European ( Pākehā ), 19.8% as Māori , 10.6% as Pacific peoples , 19.3% as Asian , 1.9% as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, and 1.1% as other ethnicities. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity. Māori form the majority in three districts of the North Island: Kawerau (63.2%), Ōpōtiki (66.2%) and Wairoa (68.5%). Europeans formed
1904-536: The Central Taupō Volcanic Zone , centred on the huge active supervolcanic caldera of Lake Taupō , now the largest lake in New Zealand. This last erupted less than 2000 years ago. The volcanic area includes the three active peaks of Mount Tongariro , Mount Ngauruhoe , and Mount Ruapehu in the south, and extends beyond Rotorua in the north reaching almost to the Bay of Plenty coast. North of Tongariro
1972-477: The Lake Taupō volcanic complex 1800 years ago, which ejected lava and especially wind-blown tephra over a wide area to the north and northeast of the North Island. About 30 km (7.2 cu mi) of material was ejected in the space of a few minutes, in what is thought to be New Zealand's largest eruption in last 20,000 years, but the entire eruption sequence ejected over 120 km (29 cu mi) in
2040-465: The North Island including 13,800 hectares of land with about 9,500 hectares of developed farm land was established off the Taupō-Napier road and is called Lochinver Station. The station was largely developed by construction millionaire Bill Stephenson and his family using heavy earthmoving equipment in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2015 it was sold to Rimanui Farms after a bid by Chinese interests was blocked by
2108-701: The North Island is provided by fifteen District Health Boards (DHBs) . Organised around geographical areas of varying population sizes, they are not coterminous with the Local Government Regions . North Island Volcanic Plateau The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau ) is a volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island of New Zealand with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. It contains
Waikato Plains - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-589: The Puketoka and Karapiro Formation depending upon where you are in the basin. The ash beds can be many meters thick, although thin out north of Hamilton, and include the eight layer 3 to 5 m (9.8 to 16.4 ft) thick Hamilton Ash Formation deposited between 350,000 and 100,000 years ago. There are also tephras derived from the andesitic stratovolcanoes of the Tongariro and Taranaki regions, as well as from Mayor Island/Tuhua . The airfall tephra layers of
2244-519: The South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially named it North Island, or the aforementioned Te Ika-a-Māui, in October 2013. In prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island , with the definite article. It is also normal to use the preposition in rather than on , for example "Hamilton
2312-437: The South Island, this is solely due to the North Island having higher natural increase (i.e. births minus deaths) and international migration; since the late 1980s, the internal migration flow has been from the North Island to the South Island. In the year to June 2020, the North Island gained 21,950 people from natural increase and 62,710 people from international migration, while losing 3,570 people from internal migration. At
2380-462: The South Island, with the country's largest city, Auckland, and the capital, Wellington, accounting for nearly half of it. There are 30 urban areas in the North Island with a population of 10,000 or more: The sub-national GDP of the North Island was estimated at NZ$ 282.355 billion in 2021 (78% of New Zealand's national GDP). Nine local government regions cover the North Island and its adjacent islands and territorial waters. Healthcare in
2448-556: The barren, ash-laden soils and harsh alpine climate leave the high land largely bare and unprofitable, capable of growing only scrubby plants. This area is known as the Rangipo Desert although it is not a true desert as the annual rainfall is over 1,000mm PA and the real reason for the low and sparse vegetation was the mass sterilization of seeds caused by the 26,000-year-old Taupō eruption, which swept white-hot ignimbrite through this valley. Prior to this cataclysmic event this area
2516-411: The circumnavigation of New Zealand. The maps described the North Island as " Ea Heinom Auwe " and " Aeheinomowe ", which recognises the "Fish of Māui" element. Another Māori name that was given to the North Island, but is now used less commonly, is Aotearoa . Use of Aotearoa to describe the North Island fell out of favour in the early 20th century, and it is now a collective Māori name for New Zealand as
2584-654: The city of Hamilton , and the Lower Waikato Plain , nearer the river's mouth. The two are broken by the rough, low-lying hills of the Hakarimata Range , between Ngāruawāhia and Huntly , and the Taupiri Range . The region is heavily populated by New Zealand standards, with many living in Hamilton towards the center of the plains. The plains are an area of once swampy land, much of which
2652-559: The club provides hot food and drinks, a bonfire, as well as competitions, souvenirs, live bands and toilet facilities. The one-day Tongariro Alpine Crossing from the Mangatepopo Valley across Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro is named one of the greatest one-day walks in the world by the Department of Conservation. The 19.2 km track is well marked in summer and popular but trampers should be quite fit and well equipped as
2720-451: The conclusion of the Otago gold rush in the 1860s, New Zealand's European population growth has experienced a steady 'Northern drift' as population centres in the North Island have grown faster than those of New Zealand's South Island. This population trend has continued into the twenty-first century, but at a much slower rate. While the North Island's population continues to grow faster than
2788-775: The current Lake Karapiro , and exiting near Thames in the Hauraki Gulf leaving drainage of the basin to the Waipa River which has not always been a tributary to the Waikato River. Between 65,000 years to at most 25,000 years ago it drained the Waikato Plains but then drained through the Hauraki Plains for 6,000 years returning to drain the Waikato Plains from around 19,000 years ago. So only in recent times,again, has it flowed northwest to empty into
Waikato Plains - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-430: The eroded ignimbrite includes pieces of quickly cooled pumice , a lightweight rock that floats on water. The top, unwelded layer of the ignimbrite sheet is relatively soft and easily eroded by streams and rivers, which transport the pumice to the lake. The lower, welded layers of the ignimbrite sheets are more dense, though still porous. These lower compressed layers often show the glint of heated silicon specks. North of
2924-468: The eruption of Taupō and other volcanoes. To the west of the three large volcanoes, the land is rough forested hill country, while the north close to Lake Taupō is more fertile and undulating and much has been cleared for farming. The forest used to extend to the west coast and there are still patches of natural vegetation in wetlands including the Horowhenua floodplains. However to the south of Taupō
2992-550: The future. Also the Volcanic Plateau region has the largest area of man made forest in the Southern Hemisphere. Nearly all the trees are Pinus radiata which were bought in for trials at Rotorua in 1899 from Kew Gardens , London. The tree, a native of Monterey, California , grew very fast in the poor soils. Mass planting was initially carried out by prisoners in the 1920s and then by the unemployed on
3060-414: The government. The high country sheep and cattle station has several airstrips, 21 houses and 200 km of roading. It historically carried 100,000 breeding ewes and about 8,000 cattle but now carries about a third of these. It has extensive shelter belts of contorta pine, improved rye-grass pasture and grows crops of swedes and barley. It previously was open to tourist and school group bus tours. Tourism
3128-602: The islands and linking the Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea . The North Island has an estimated population of 4,077,800 as of June 2024. The North Island had a population of 3,808,005 at the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 213,453 people (5.9%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 570,957 people (17.6%) since the 2013 census . Of the total population, 733,893 people (19.3%) were aged under 15 years, 743,154 (19.5%) were 15 to 29, 1,721,427 (45.2%) were 30 to 64, and 609,534 (16.0%) were 65 or older. Ever since
3196-457: The kokako, blue duck and brown kiwi), while imported plants such as old man's beard , banana passionfruit and gorse can take over from indigenous species. Finally grazing by goats and possums can eradicate others such as kamahi , kaikawaka ( Libocedrus bidwillii ) and mountain tōtara . Therefore, smaller islands off the coast of Wellington have been used as a refuge for North Island birds and reptiles whose habitats may be threatened now or in
3264-704: The land is peaty , and significant sections especially in the north east are still undrained swamp . Dozens of shallow riverine lakes lie at the central and southern end of the lower plain, notably Lake Waikare . This part of the Wailkato watershed is currently managed as the Middle Waikato Management Zone and the Lower Waikato Management Zone. There is geological evidence that the Hamilton Basin portion
3332-402: The largest ply factories in New Zealand is located on the Volcanic Plateau at Tokoroa. Although planting by hand is still done on steeper land, most seedlings are now planted with the help of machines. Urban areas in the region include the towns of Taihape in the south, Ohakune the carrot-growing capital of NZ in the west, and Taupō in the north, with Tūrangi a major trout fishing base at
3400-453: The last 50,000 years vary from between 0.5 to 1.5 m (1 ft 8 in to 4 ft 11 in) thick. 37°40′11.79″S 175°31′5.93″E / 37.6699417°S 175.5183139°E / -37.6699417; 175.5183139 North Island The North Island ( Māori : Te Ika-a-Māui [tɛ i.kɐ ɐ mɑː.ʉ.i] , lit. 'the fish of Māui', officially North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui or historically New Ulster )
3468-452: The magma and this increases to the north and east of the Tongariro Volcanic Centre where there is a landscape of calderas and volcanic domes making up the Taupō caldera complex (Central Taupō Volcanic Zone) and Okataina caldera complex (Okataina Volcanic Centre). These produced much of the ignimbrite sheet deposits of the plateau. Ignimbrite is formed from very viscous rhyolite magma which
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#17327918926253536-554: The north and Rangipo underground HEP station to the east. During the 1960s the Tongariro Power Scheme redirected the flow of water from many of the streams and rivers that drain the central peaks. The water was channelled into canals, tunnels and storage lakes to provide water for 2 HEP stations at Rangipo and Tokaanu. The water then flowed into Lake Taupō increasing its input by 20%. Most of the Tongariro river flow
3604-469: The north west of the plateau is the lava dome of Mount Tarawera which was split in half by a later relatively small explosive eruption as recently as 1886 with the greatest loss of human life documented from an eruption in New Zealand history. A subsequent risk assessment suggests the Tarawera containing Okataina caldera complex as the highest risk volcanic field in New Zealand to man. The entire area of
3672-403: The oldest recorded volcano in the south of the plateau. The other two most prominent volcanic mountains are Tongariro and Ngauruhoe part of a single composite stratovolcano , like Ruapehu made up of layers of lava and tephra . The ring plain around the central volcanoes is formed from numerous volcanic deposits from slope failure or eruptions, and lahars or mudflows that occur when either
3740-588: The peaks of the mountains which are considered sacred, as well as the Ketetahi hot springs on the north slope of Mt Tongariro. The Māori people considered the volcanoes sacred and in traditional times wore woven flax eye shields to avoid looking at the peaks. The Rangipo region is largely uninhabited. It is used by the New Zealand Army , based at Waiouru in the south, and by the Rangipo prison farm in
3808-446: The plateau is above 300 metres, with a considerable proportion of it more than 800 metres above sea level. The plateau has a mild climate although the temperature regularly falls below freezing in winter and snow can fall between March and October. Of all North Island regions, the Volcanic Plateau is closest to having a continental climate . The period of maximum snow is July to September. Sudden blizzard conditions can be experienced on
3876-508: The plateau this stone, called Hinuera stone (after a quarry of origin), is produced for use for building cladding. An historic eruption at the north west edge of the plateau at Mangakino about 1 million years ago produced ignimbrite that 170 km (110 mi) away in Auckland is up to 9 m (30 ft) thick. The last massive eruption in the area was the Hatepe eruption from
3944-414: The plurality in the Auckland region (49.8%) and are the majority in the remaining 39 districts. The proportion of North Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census were 29.3%. The most common foreign countries of birth were England (15.4% of overseas-born residents), Mainland China (11.3%), India (10.1%), South Africa (5.9%), Australia (5.5%) and Samoa (5.3%). The North Island has a larger population than
4012-486: The sea. While he was not looking, his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island, and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui ("The Fish of Māui"). The mountains and valleys are believed to have been formed as a result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish. During Captain James Cook 's voyage between 1769 and 1770 , Tahitian navigator Tupaia accompanied
4080-470: The south of Lake Taupō and by the Kaweka Ranges in the east, The majority of the population of the area lives close to the shores of Lake Taupō , with some smaller settlements to the east of the volcanoes. These make their living largely through tourism , including skiing in the winter season, trout fishing, especially on the Tongariro river or by forestry in the plateau's northeast, which includes
4148-448: The south of the plateau and down to Wellington is home to a variety of lizards including Whitaker's skink (Cyclodina whitakeri) , forest gecko (Hoplodactylus granulatus) and Wellington green gecko (Naultinus elegans punctatus) . Wetlands throughout the region support waterbirds and fish including the endemic brown mudfish . The lowland areas are quite highly populated and therefore urban development, agriculture and forestry are
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#17327918926254216-473: The surrounding ranges. Even younger, and so closer to the surface usually, is the Karapiro Formation with rhyolitic sands and gravels which can be weathered to clay. The Waikato River over, even the last 1800 years, has changed course many times in the basin. It has changed course even more spectacularly on at least four occasions in the last 100,000 years, flowing northeast from the region of
4284-486: The volcanoes in winter. Such conditions have killed climbers as recently as 2019. The Desert Road on State Highway 1 is often closed by snow in winter for brief periods. The natural vegetation of the area includes the podocarp conifers including rimu ( Dacrydium cupressinum ) , miro ( Prumnopitys ferruginea ) , matai ( Prumnopitys taxifolia ) , totara ( Podocarpus totara ) and kahikatea ( Dacrycarpus dacrydioides ) and hardwoods that once covered this whole area before
4352-495: Was considered a masterpiece of engineering. This was the last stage to be built in the main trunk railway line completed in 1908. The Cold Kiwi Motorcycle Rally, advertised as NZ's longest running motorcycle rally , has been held on the Plateau since 1972. The event is run by The Ruapehu Motorcycle Club in early September each year. Bikers sleep in their own tents despite the average temperature being −8 °C at night, but
4420-519: Was drained by the early settlers, such as the Morrin brothers in the late 18th century and is now intensively farmed. Dairy cattle, sheep , grain and maize are all farmed here, but it is dairy farming that is the staple of the local economy. The lower plain is also known for vineyards , and the middle plain has some of the southern hemisphere's top thoroughbred stables, notably around the towns of Cambridge and Matamata . A considerable amount of
4488-459: Was due to cobalt deficient volcanic soils. The diagnosis and cure for this was discovered by work of New Zealand scientists (Grimmett and Shorland, senior chemists at the Department of Agriculture in 1934) who found that the iron ore which gave the best results contained significant amounts of cobalt, and went against popular wisdom by dosing animals with cobalt, with spectacular results. Australians Underwood and Filmer in 1936 confirmed this and solved
4556-535: Was forested and stumps of charcoalized trees can be seen where soil has eroded. Around Taupō itself there are geothermal areas with specialised plant life such as the prostrate kanuka (a subspecies of kunzea ericoides ) . Further to the east of the plateau lies more rough hill country in the Kaimanawa Ranges, a popular hunting area for wild red and sika deer. The tops of the mountains are open and tussock covered. Helicopters and light aircraft can land on
4624-408: Was formed as a rift valley . The normal faulting associated with this may have become inactive before 350,000 years ago, although in lake sediments there is evidence of significant local earthquake activity as recently as 7600 years ago, but epicenters may relate to known current active fault systems to the north east of the plains. The basement is Waipapa Morrinsville Terrane greywacke formed in
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