Meet Taupo, the supervolcano responsible for two of the biggest explosions in history

Do you know the city of Taupo? Located in the center of the North Island of New Zealand, the place attracts many tourists every year. Positioned close to the beautiful snow peaks of Tongarito National Park, it serves as a home for over 40,000 people.

The city is known for being home to Lake Taupo, which stretches over a distance of 623 km² in width and a total of 160 meters in depth. However, what draws attention and attracts many tourists are the submerged magma chambers in the area.

the chambers of magma present at the bottom of the lake are responsible for creating natural hot springs in the vicinity of the city, which makes the public want to visit.

However, not only does the lake have these magma chambers, it is also home to a massive supervolcano that carries a history of natural modifications to the environment around it. Read on for the history of the Taupo Volcano!

The Taupo Volcano

Although today it has become a major tourist spot for the city, Lake Taupo hides one of the most sensational stories in the world.

In the deepest areas of the lake, just two excavation shovels at the bottom, water temperatures can reach over 60ºC due to the magma close to the surface.

If we dig even deeper into the site, reaching a depth of between 2 km and 3 km, the pressure between the water and steam mixture is so great that it can reach over 330ºC. It thus demonstrates that exploration of the site could be responsible for an incredible source of geothermal energy.

However, the Taupo volcano was responsible for two of the most impressive eruptions recorded globally in geologically recent periods.

Its eruptive activity began approximately 300,000 years ago, resulting in two monumental explosions: the first culminated in the eruption of Mount Tauhara, which occurred about 65,000 years ago, while the second gave rise to the Oruanui eruption, dated to 26,500 years ago back.

(Image: publicity)

The two most important eruptions of the Taupo volcano

The first eruption that has a marked place in history is that of Oruani, already mentioned, which was recorded as the largest in the last 70,000 years by researchers.

That eruption reached an intensity level of 8 in the EVI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) and generated an impressive amount of 530 km of magma, altering several natural aspects of the region.

The last eruption that occurred in Taupo is called Hatepe and was recorded about 1,800 years ago as the most powerful eruption in the last 5,000 years. The eruption caused the lake to expand and wash away much of the vegetation around it, leaving trails of ash across the region.

Therefore, the volcanic eruptions caused in the place resulted in several damages, but they forever changed the landscape of the place. However, one fact to keep in mind is that the volcano is still active and could be responsible for more volcanic activity and eruptions in the future.