pukunui
Legend
NZ's largest city, Auckland, is built atop a magma field with more than 50 volcanic cones. We have so many because the magma plugs up the pipes after it hardens, so it keeps having to find new weak spots to break through. The field seems to have settled down - while the most recent, Rangitoto, erupted about 500-600 years ago (after the first Māori arrived), most of the volcanoes in Auckland are ancient. That being said, scientists say we're well overdue for a new one ...Heh. Sometimes I remember why I don't live in Canada anymore.
Of course, we have volcanoes. So, I guess you gotta take the rough with the smooth.
Auckland Museum has an excellent exhibit on volcanoes that includes a little house you can go in to experience a simulated eruption. The NZ Civil Defence service also made a TV movie about an Auckland volcanic eruption a few years back, and they hold drills every so often.
Last edited:
