Taupo

Taupo, a popular tourist destination for both local and international holidaymakers, is situated in the centre of New Zealand”s North Island and on the shores of the southern hemispheres largest fresh water lake. The lake covers an area of 616 square kilometres, is 186 metres at its deepest and lies in the caldera created by a massive supervolcanic eruption which occurred approximately 26,500 years ago.  It ejected an estimated 1170 cubic kilometres of material and caused several hundred square kilometres of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera. It is possible that the Lake Taupo event contributed to starting the last glacial period.

Several later eruptions occurred over the millennia before the most recent major eruption, which occurred in 180AD, it is believed to have ejected 100 cubic kilometres of material, of which 30 cubic kilometres was ejected in the space of a few minutes. This was one of the most violent eruptions in the last 5000 years. The eruption column was twice as high as the eruption column from Mt St Helens in 1980, and the ash turned the sky red half a world away, over Rome and China. The eruption devastated much of the North Island and further expanded the lake.

The volcano is currently considered to be dormant rather than extinct.

Tourism is a major component of Taupo’s commercial sector, and the city attracts over 1.2 million visitors per year. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year. Taupo is well know for it’s excellent fishing for rainbow and brown trout and hosts the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours.

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