Lake Taupō: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|New Zealand's largest lake}} |
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[[Image:LakeTaupo-FullLakeView.jpg|thumb|300px|Lake Taupo.]] |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} |
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{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2013}} |
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{{Infobox body of water |
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| name = Lake Taupō |
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| other_name = Lake Taupo |
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| image = Lake Taupo.jpg |
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| caption = |
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| alt = Lake Taupō |
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| pushpin_map = New Zealand#North Island |
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| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Taupō |
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| image_bathymetry = |
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| caption_bathymetry = |
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|image_map = {{Infobox mapframe |area_km2=616|point=none|shape-fill-opacity=0|stroke-width=1}} |
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| location = [[Taupō District]], [[Waikato]] region, [[North Island]] |
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| coords = {{Coord|38|48|25|S|175|54|28|E|region:NZ_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} |
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| type = [[Volcanic crater lake|Crater lake]], [[oligotroph]]ic |
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| inflow = [[Waitahanui River]], [[Tongariro River]], [[Tauranga Taupō River]] |
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| outflow = [[Waikato River]] |
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| catchment = {{convert|3487|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} |
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| basin_countries = [[New Zealand]] |
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| length = {{convert|46|km|mi|abbr=on}} |
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| width = {{convert|33|km|mi|abbr=on}} |
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| area = {{convert|616|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} |
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| depth = {{convert|110|m|ft|abbr=on}} |
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| max-depth = {{convert|186|m|ft|abbr=on}} |
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| volume = {{convert|67.76|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} |
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| residence_time = 10.5 years |
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| shore = {{convert|193|km|mi|abbr=on}} |
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| elevation = {{convert|356|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.govt.nz/Lake-Taupo-Lake-Levels|title=Lake levels|publisher=[[Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)|Te Tari Taiwhenua {{!}} Department of Internal Affairs]]|access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref> |
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| islands = [[Motutaiko Island]] (11 [[hectares|ha]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/volunteer-join-or-start-a-project/start-or-fund-a-project/funding/nga-whenua-rahui/nga-whenua-rahui-fund/featured-projects/motutaiko-island/|title=Motutaiko Island: Current Nga Whenua Rahui and Matauranga Kura Taiao projects|publisher=Department of Conservation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304231419/http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/volunteer-join-or-start-a-project/start-or-fund-a-project/funding/nga-whenua-rahui/nga-whenua-rahui-fund/featured-projects/motutaiko-island/|archive-date=4 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cussen | first1 = Laurence | author-link = Laurence Cussen | year = 1887 | title = Notes on the Physiography and Geology of the King Country | url = http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_20/rsnz_20_00_006340.html | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand | volume = 20 | pages = 317–332 }} See [http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_20/rsnz_20_00_006460.html Lake Taupō], pp 328–331</ref> |
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| cities = |
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| native_name ={{plainlist}} |
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*{{langx|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}} |
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*{{Lang|Mi|Taupōmoana}}{{endplainlist}} |
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| etymology = From {{lang|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}}, [[Māori language|Māori]] for "great cloak of [[Tia (Māori explorer)|Tia]]" |
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}} |
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'''Lake Taupo''' is a [[lake]] |
'''Lake Taupō''' (also spelled '''Taupo'''; {{langx|mi|Taupō-nui-a-Tia}} or {{Lang|Mi|Taupōmoana}}) is a large [[volcanic crater lake|crater lake]] in [[New Zealand]]'s [[North Island]], located in the [[caldera]] of [[Taupō Volcano]]. The lake is the namesake of the town of [[Taupō]], which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With a surface area of {{cvt|616|km2}}, it is the [[List of lakes of New Zealand#Largest|largest lake by surface area]] in [[New Zealand]], and the second largest [[freshwater lake]] by surface area in geopolitical [[Oceania]] after [[Lake Murray (Papua New Guinea)|Lake Murray]] in [[Papua New Guinea]]. [[Motutaiko Island]] lies in the southeastern area of the lake. |
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== |
==Geography== |
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Lake Taupō has a perimeter of approximately {{cvt|193|km}} and a maximum depth of {{cvt|186|m}}. It is drained by the [[Waikato River]] (New Zealand's longest river), and its main tributaries are the [[Waitahanui River]], the [[Tongariro River]], and the [[Tauranga Taupō River]]. It is a noted [[trout]] fishery with stocks of introduced [[brown trout|brown]] and [[rainbow trout]]. |
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The town of [[Taupo]] is situated on the north-eastern shore of the lake. |
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The level of the lake is controlled by [[Mercury Energy]], the owner of the eight hydroelectric dams on the Waikato River downstream of Lake Taupō, using gates built in 1940–41. The gates are used to reduce flooding, conserve water and ensure a minimum flow of {{convert|50|m3/s||abbr=on}} in the Waikato River. The [[resource consent]] allows the level of the lake to be varied between {{convert|355.85|and|357.25|m|}} above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://emidatasets.blob.core.windows.net/publicdata/Datasets/Environment/_AdditionalInformation/ArchivedDatasets/20100630_HydrologicalData/20090331_Lake_level_history/20090331_Lake_level_history_report.pdf |title=Lake Level History|last=Opus International Consultants Limited|date=27 February 2009}}</ref> |
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== Lake Formation == |
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The lake lies in a [[caldera]] created following a huge volcanic eruption (see [[supervolcano]]s) approximately 26,500 years ago. According to geological records, the [[volcano]] has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years. The first eruption, known as the Oruanui eruption, ejected an estimated 800 cubic kilometres of material and caused several hundred square kilometres of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera. |
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== Lake formation and volcanism == |
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The most recent eruption, which occurred in [[181]]AD, is believed to have ejected 100 cubic kilometres of material, of which 30 cubic kilometres was ejected in the space of a few minutes. It is believed that the eruption column was 50 kilometres high, twice as high as the eruption column from [[Mount St. Helens]] in [[1980]]. This makes it the most violent eruption in the last 5000 years. It was sufficiently large enough, due to the [[ash (volcanic)|ash]]-expulsion, to turn the [[sky|skies]] [[red]] over [[Rome]] and [[China]], and went down as a matter of historical record. This eruption further expanded the lake. The volcano is considered to be dormant rather than extinct. It lies in the [[Taupo Volcanic Zone]]. |
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{{Main|Taupō Volcano}} |
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Lake Taupō is in a caldera created mainly by a [[supervolcano|supervolcanic]] eruption which occurred approximately 25,600 years ago.<ref name="Dunbar 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dunbar |first1=Nelia W. |last2=Iverson |first2=Nels A. |last3=Van Eaton |first3=Alexa R. |last4=Sigl |first4=Michael |last5=Alloway |first5=Brent V. |last6=Kurbatov |first6=Andrei V. |last7=Mastin |first7=Larry G. |last8=McConnell |first8=Joseph R. |last9=Wilson |first9=Colin J. N. |title=New Zealand supereruption provides time marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica |journal=Scientific Reports |date=25 September 2017 |volume=7 |page=12238 |doi=10.1038/s41598-017-11758-0 |pmid=28947829 |s2cid=6287940 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-50939-x |access-date=13 February 2022|doi-access=free |pmc=5613013 }}</ref> According to geological records, the [[volcano]] has erupted 29 times in the last 30,000 years.<ref name="GeonetDataUnderpinsTaupoResearch">{{cite web |title=GeoNet volcano data underpins new research of Taupō volcano|url=https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/5NpTbuSuO1ON9AjLOab61m |website=[[GeoNet (New Zealand)|GeoNet]]|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> It has ejected mostly [[rhyolite|rhyolitic]] [[lava]], although [[Mount Tauhara]] formed from [[dacite|dacitic]] lava. |
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Taupō has been active for 300,000 years with a very large event known as the [[Oruanui eruption]] occurring approximately 25,600 years ago.<ref name="Dunbar 2017"/> It was the world's largest known [[eruption]] over the past 70,000 years, ejecting 1170 cubic kilometres of material and causing several hundred square kilometres of surrounding [[land]] to collapse and form the caldera. The caldera later filled with water to form Lake Taupō, eventually overflowing to cause a huge [[outburst flood]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00288306.2004.9515074 | last1 = Manville |first1= Vern | author2-link = Colin J. N. Wilson |last2= Wilson |first2= Colin J. N.]] | year = 2004 | title = The 26.5 ka Oruanui eruption, New Zealand: a review of the roles of volcanism and climate in the post-eruptive sedimentary response | journal = New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics | volume = 47 | issue = 3 | pages = 525–547 | doi-access = free }}</ref> |
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Several later eruptions occurred over the millennia before the most recent major eruption, which was traditionally dated as about 181 CE from [[Greenland]] ice-core records. Tree ring data from two studies suggests a later date of 232 CE ± 5<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1177/0959683611425551 |last1=Hogg |first1=A. |last2= Lowe |first2=D.J. |last3= Palmer |first3=J. |last4=Boswijk |first4=G. |last5= Ramsey |first5=C.B. | year = 2011 | title = Revised calendar date for the Taupo eruption derived by 14C wiggle-matching using a New Zealand kauri 14C calibration data set | journal = The Holocene |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=439–449 |hdl=10289/5936 |hdl-access=free | bibcode=2012Holoc..22..439H |s2cid=129928745 }}</ref> and this is now accepted.<ref name="Illsley-Kemp 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Illsley-Kemp |first1=Finnigan |last2=Barker |first2=Simon J. |last3=Wilson |first3=Colin J. N. |last4=Chamberlain |first4=Calum J. |last5=Hreinsdóttir |first5=Sigrún |last6=Ellis |first6=Susan |author-link6=Susan Ellis (geophysicist) |last7=Hamling |first7=Ian J. |last8=Savage |first8=Martha K. |last9=Mestel |first9=Eleanor R. H. |last10=Wadsworth |first10=Fabian B. |date=1 June 2021 |title=Volcanic Unrest at Taupō Volcano in 2019: Causes, Mechanisms and Implications |journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1029/2021GC009803 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Known as the [[Hatepe eruption]], it is believed to have ejected 100 cubic kilometres of material, of which 30 cubic kilometres was ejected in a few minutes. This was one of the most powerful eruptions in the last 5000 years (alongside the [[Minoan eruption]] in the 2nd millennium BCE, the [[Tianchi eruption]] of [[Baekdu Mountain|Baekdu]] around 1000 CE and the 1815 eruption of [[Mount Tambora|Tambora]]), with a [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]] rating of 7; and there appears to be a correlation, to within a few years, of a year in which the sky was red over [[Rome]] and [[China]]. The eruption devastated much of the North Island and further expanded the lake. The area was uninhabited by humans at the time of the eruption, as New Zealand was not settled by [[Māori people|Māori]] until about 1280. Possible climatic effects of the eruption would have been concentrated on the [[Southern Hemisphere]] due to the southerly position of Lake Taupō.<ref>Climate, History and the Modern World, Lamb, H. (1995), Routledge</ref> Taupō's last known eruption occurred around 30 years later, with lava dome extrusion forming the [[Horomatangi Reef]]s, but that eruption was much smaller than the Hatepe eruption. |
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Underwater hydrothermal activity continues near the Horomatangi vent,<ref name="Jago">{{cite journal | first1 = C. E. J. |last1=de Ronde |first2= P. |last2=Stoffers |first3= D. |last3=Garbe-Schönberg |first4= B. W. |last4=Christenson |first5= B. |last5=Jones |first6= R. |last6=Manconi |first7= P. R. L. |last7=Browne |first8= K. |last8=Hissmann |first9= R. |last9=Botz|first10= B. W. |last10=Davy |first11=M. |last11=Schmitt |first12=C. N. |last12=Battershill | year = 2002 | title = Discovery of active hydrothermal venting in Lake Taupo, New Zealand | journal = Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research | volume = 115 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 257–275 | doi=10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00332-8 |bibcode = 2002JVGR..115..257D }}</ref> and nearby geothermal fields with associated hot springs are found north and south of the lake, for example at [[Rotokawa, Bay of Plenty|Rotokawa]] and [[Tūrangi]]. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain [[extremophile]] micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.<ref>C.Michael Hogan. 2010. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Extremophile?topic=49540 ''Extremophile'']. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC</ref> |
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The volcano is considered active and is monitored by GNS Science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/taupo|title=GeoNet Taupo|website=[[GeoNet (New Zealand)|GeoNet]]}}</ref> |
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== Biota == |
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Much of the watershed of Lake Taupō is a beech and [[podocarp]] forest with associate [[understory]] ferns being ''[[Blechnum filiforme]]'', ''[[Asplenium flaccidum]]'', ''[[Doodia media]]'', ''[[Hymenophyllum demissum]]'', ''[[Microsorum pustulatum]]'' and ''[[Dendroconche scandens]]'', and some prominent associate shrubs being ''[[Olearia rani]]'' and ''[[Alseuosmia quercifolia]]''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 ''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |date=13 February 2012 }}</ref> |
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Native faunal species in the lake include [[northern koura|northern kōura]] or crayfish (''Paranephrops planifrons'') and [[kokopu|kōkopu]] or [[whitebait]] (''[[Galaxias]]'' species). The lake is noted for stocks of [[brown trout]] (''Salmo trutta'') and [[rainbow trout]] (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), introduced from Europe and California respectively in the late nineteenth century. There has also been a subsequent introduction of smelt ([[Retropinnidae]] species) as a food for the trout. |
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A community of sponges and associated invertebrates live around the underwater geothermal vents.<ref name="Jago"/> |
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== Tourism == |
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[[File:Lake taupo landsat.jpg|thumb|200px|left|NASA satellite photo of Lake Taupō]] |
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[[File: Wharf and small jetty on Lake Taupo at the point where the Waikato River leaves the lake ATLIB 313225.png|thumb|left|Wharf and small jetty where the [[Waikato River]] departs the lake, 1928]] |
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[[File:01 New Zealand Lake Taupo.jpg|thumb|Māori rock carvings at Mine Bay are over 10 metres high and accessible only by boat or kayak.]] |
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Tourism is a major component of Taupō's commercial sector. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year. |
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The lake area has a temperate climate. Daily maximum temperatures recorded for Taupō range from an average of 23.3 °C in January and February to 11.2 °C in July,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Maximum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012616/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> while the nighttime minimum temperatures range from 11.6 °C in February down to 2.2 °C in July.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Minimum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012337/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> Rain falls in all seasons but is greatest in winter and spring, from June to December.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |title=Mean Monthly Rainfall |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015842/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> |
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Taupō hosts the [[Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge]], a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours. [[Skydiving]] is a popular local sport and tourist attraction. Taupō also hosts the ANZCO [[Ironman Triathlon|Ironman]] event. |
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Crossing the 40.2 km length of the lake is a challenge for open-water swimmers. In 2020, Michael Wells from Darwin, Australia, was the first to breaststroke across the lake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/darwin-man-breaststrokes-new-zealands-lake-taupo/11874820|title='Exhaustion, exposure, hypothermia' all possible in Lake Taupo record swim|last=Byrne|first=Conor|date=19 January 2020|publisher=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref> |
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===Māori rock carving=== |
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On the north-west side of Lake Taupō on the cliffs of Mine Bay, there are Māori rock carvings created in the late 1970s by [[Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell]] and John Randall. Carved in the likeness of [[Ngātoro-i-rangi]], a navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupō area over a thousand years ago according to [[Māori mythology|Māori legend]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022 |title=Ngātoroirangi Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings |url=https://www.lovetaupo.com/en/see-do/art-maori-culture/mine-bay-maori-rock-carvings/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=www.lovetaupo.com}}</ref> The 10-metre-high carving is intended to protect Lake Taupō from volcanic activities underneath. The cliff has become a popular tourist destination with hundreds of boats and yachts visiting the spot yearly. |
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===Māori tribes=== |
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Lake Taupō is a [[taonga]] (treasure or something special to the person) of [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] from the Te Arawa waka. Ngāti Tūwharetoa owns the bed of the lake and its tributaries. They grant the public free access for recreational use.<ref>{{cite press release| title=New deed of settlement for Lake Taupo | url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-deed-settlement-lake-taupô}}</ref> |
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== History == |
== History == |
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Lake Taupō previously housed a [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] village known as Te Rapa near the springs of [[Maunga Kākaramea]]. It was covered in a landslide on 7 May 1846 which killed 60 people, including the iwi's chief [[Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devastating landslide at Lake Taupō |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/new-zealands-most-devastating-landslide-at-te-rapa-lake-taupo |access-date=10 March 2024 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref> |
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[[Image:LakeTaupo-RockCarvings.jpg|thumb|300px|In one of the alcoves of Lake Taupo, some rock carvings made in the 1970s.]] |
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== See also == |
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* [[List of lakes of New Zealand]] |
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* [[Taupō Volcanic Zone]] |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* {{cite journal |
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| author = Ben G. Mason |
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|author2=David M. Pyle |author3=Clive Oppenheimer |
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| year = 2004 |
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| title = The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth |
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| journal = Bulletin of Volcanology |
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| volume = 66 |
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| issue = 8 |
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| pages = 735–748 |
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| doi = 10.1007/s00445-004-0355-9|bibcode = 2004BVol...66..735M |s2cid=129680497 }} |
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* {{cite gvp |
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| vn = 241070 |
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| name = Taupo |
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| access-date = 1 January 2009 }} |
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== External links == |
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{{Commons category|Lake Taupō}} |
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*[http://www.greatlaketaupo.com/ Great Lake Taupō Official Visitor Information Website] |
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*[http://www.laketaupo.co.nz/ Tūrangi and Lake Taupō Website] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090627164106/http://www.laketauponz.com/taupo/webcam.html Lake Taupō Webcam] |
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*[http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Environment/Natural-resources/Water/Lakes/Lake-Taupo/ Lake Taupō] at the Waikato Regional Council |
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*[http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/central-north-island/turangi-taupo/lake-taupo-area/ Lake Taupō area] at the Department of Conservation |
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{{Waikato}} |
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The residents of Taupo in the [[1970]]'s commissioned some rock carvings in various places on the lake to help boost the tourism industry. |
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{{Authority control}} |
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== More Information == |
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*[http://www.laketauponz.com/ http://www.laketauponz.com/] |
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*[http://www.laketauponz.com/ourenv/webcam.asp Lake Taupo Webcam] |
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*[http://www.laketauponz.com/ourenv/volcanic.asp Taupo Volcanic Zone] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taupō, Lake}} |
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[[Category:Supervolcanoes|Taupo, Lake]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Taupō Volcanic Zone]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Calderas of New Zealand]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Taupō District]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:VEI-8 volcanoes]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Supervolcanoes]] |
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[[Category:Volcanic crater lakes]] |
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[[Category:Lakes of Waikato]] |
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[[Category:Lake Taupō|*]] |
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[[Category:Waikato River]] |
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Latest revision as of 18:54, 9 November 2024
| Lake Taupō | |
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| Lake Taupo | |
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.png)  Lake Taupō  Lake Taupō | |
| Location | Taupō District, Waikato region, North Island |
| Coordinates | 38°48′25″S 175°54′28″E / 38.80694°S 175.90778°E |
| Type | Crater lake, oligotrophic |
| Etymology | From Taupō-nui-a-Tia, Māori for "great cloak of Tia" |
| Primary inflows | Waitahanui River, Tongariro River, Tauranga Taupō River |
| Primary outflows | Waikato River |
| Catchment area | 3,487 km2 (1,346 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Max. length | 46 km (29 mi) |
| Max. width | 33 km (21 mi) |
| Surface area | 616 km2 (238 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Max. depth | 186 m (610 ft) |
| Water volume | 67.76 km3 (16.26 cu mi) |
| Residence time | 10.5 years |
| Shore length1 | 193 km (120 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 356 m (1,168 ft)[1] |
| Islands | Motutaiko Island (11 ha)[2][3] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; Māori: Taupō-nui-a-Tia or Taupōmoana) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With a surface area of 616 km2 (238 sq mi), it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray in Papua New Guinea. Motutaiko Island lies in the southeastern area of the lake.
Geography
[edit]Lake Taupō has a perimeter of approximately 193 km (120 mi) and a maximum depth of 186 m (610 ft). It is drained by the Waikato River (New Zealand's longest river), and its main tributaries are the Waitahanui River, the Tongariro River, and the Tauranga Taupō River. It is a noted trout fishery with stocks of introduced brown and rainbow trout.
The level of the lake is controlled by Mercury Energy, the owner of the eight hydroelectric dams on the Waikato River downstream of Lake Taupō, using gates built in 1940–41. The gates are used to reduce flooding, conserve water and ensure a minimum flow of 50 m3/s (1,800 cu ft/s) in the Waikato River. The resource consent allows the level of the lake to be varied between 355.85 and 357.25 metres (1,167.5 and 1,172.1 ft) above sea level.[4]
Lake formation and volcanism
[edit]Lake Taupō is in a caldera created mainly by a supervolcanic eruption which occurred approximately 25,600 years ago.[5] According to geological records, the volcano has erupted 29 times in the last 30,000 years.[6] It has ejected mostly rhyolitic lava, although Mount Tauhara formed from dacitic lava.
Taupō has been active for 300,000 years with a very large event known as the Oruanui eruption occurring approximately 25,600 years ago.[5] It was the world's largest known eruption over the past 70,000 years, ejecting 1170 cubic kilometres of material and causing several hundred square kilometres of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera. The caldera later filled with water to form Lake Taupō, eventually overflowing to cause a huge outburst flood.[7]
Several later eruptions occurred over the millennia before the most recent major eruption, which was traditionally dated as about 181 CE from Greenland ice-core records. Tree ring data from two studies suggests a later date of 232 CE ± 5[8] and this is now accepted.[9] Known as the Hatepe eruption, it is believed to have ejected 100 cubic kilometres of material, of which 30 cubic kilometres was ejected in a few minutes. This was one of the most powerful eruptions in the last 5000 years (alongside the Minoan eruption in the 2nd millennium BCE, the Tianchi eruption of Baekdu around 1000 CE and the 1815 eruption of Tambora), with a Volcanic Explosivity Index rating of 7; and there appears to be a correlation, to within a few years, of a year in which the sky was red over Rome and China. The eruption devastated much of the North Island and further expanded the lake. The area was uninhabited by humans at the time of the eruption, as New Zealand was not settled by Māori until about 1280. Possible climatic effects of the eruption would have been concentrated on the Southern Hemisphere due to the southerly position of Lake Taupō.[10] Taupō's last known eruption occurred around 30 years later, with lava dome extrusion forming the Horomatangi Reefs, but that eruption was much smaller than the Hatepe eruption.
Underwater hydrothermal activity continues near the Horomatangi vent,[11] and nearby geothermal fields with associated hot springs are found north and south of the lake, for example at Rotokawa and Tūrangi. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.[12]
The volcano is considered active and is monitored by GNS Science.[13]
Biota
[edit]Much of the watershed of Lake Taupō is a beech and podocarp forest with associate understory ferns being Blechnum filiforme, Asplenium flaccidum, Doodia media, Hymenophyllum demissum, Microsorum pustulatum and Dendroconche scandens, and some prominent associate shrubs being Olearia rani and Alseuosmia quercifolia.[14]
Native faunal species in the lake include northern kōura or crayfish (Paranephrops planifrons) and kōkopu or whitebait (Galaxias species). The lake is noted for stocks of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), introduced from Europe and California respectively in the late nineteenth century. There has also been a subsequent introduction of smelt (Retropinnidae species) as a food for the trout.
A community of sponges and associated invertebrates live around the underwater geothermal vents.[11]
Tourism
[edit]
Tourism is a major component of Taupō's commercial sector. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year.
The lake area has a temperate climate. Daily maximum temperatures recorded for Taupō range from an average of 23.3 °C in January and February to 11.2 °C in July,[15] while the nighttime minimum temperatures range from 11.6 °C in February down to 2.2 °C in July.[16] Rain falls in all seasons but is greatest in winter and spring, from June to December.[17]
Taupō hosts the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours. Skydiving is a popular local sport and tourist attraction. Taupō also hosts the ANZCO Ironman event.
Crossing the 40.2 km length of the lake is a challenge for open-water swimmers. In 2020, Michael Wells from Darwin, Australia, was the first to breaststroke across the lake.[18]
Māori rock carving
[edit]On the north-west side of Lake Taupō on the cliffs of Mine Bay, there are Māori rock carvings created in the late 1970s by Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell and John Randall. Carved in the likeness of Ngātoro-i-rangi, a navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupō area over a thousand years ago according to Māori legend.[19] The 10-metre-high carving is intended to protect Lake Taupō from volcanic activities underneath. The cliff has become a popular tourist destination with hundreds of boats and yachts visiting the spot yearly.
Māori tribes
[edit]Lake Taupō is a taonga (treasure or something special to the person) of Ngāti Tūwharetoa from the Te Arawa waka. Ngāti Tūwharetoa owns the bed of the lake and its tributaries. They grant the public free access for recreational use.[20]
History
[edit]Lake Taupō previously housed a Ngāti Tūwharetoa village known as Te Rapa near the springs of Maunga Kākaramea. It was covered in a landslide on 7 May 1846 which killed 60 people, including the iwi's chief Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II.[21]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Lake levels". Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Motutaiko Island: Current Nga Whenua Rahui and Matauranga Kura Taiao projects". Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014.
- ^ Cussen, Laurence (1887). "Notes on the Physiography and Geology of the King Country". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 20: 317–332. See Lake Taupō, pp 328–331
- ^ Opus International Consultants Limited (27 February 2009). "Lake Level History" (PDF).
- ^ a b Dunbar, Nelia W.; Iverson, Nels A.; Van Eaton, Alexa R.; Sigl, Michael; Alloway, Brent V.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Mastin, Larry G.; McConnell, Joseph R.; Wilson, Colin J. N. (25 September 2017). "New Zealand supereruption provides time marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica". Scientific Reports. 7: 12238. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-11758-0. PMC 5613013. PMID 28947829. S2CID 6287940. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ "GeoNet volcano data underpins new research of Taupō volcano". GeoNet. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Manville, Vern; Wilson, Colin J. N.]] (2004). "The 26.5 ka Oruanui eruption, New Zealand: a review of the roles of volcanism and climate in the post-eruptive sedimentary response". New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics. 47 (3): 525–547. doi:10.1080/00288306.2004.9515074.
- ^ Hogg, A.; Lowe, D.J.; Palmer, J.; Boswijk, G.; Ramsey, C.B. (2011). "Revised calendar date for the Taupo eruption derived by 14C wiggle-matching using a New Zealand kauri 14C calibration data set". The Holocene. 22 (4): 439–449. Bibcode:2012Holoc..22..439H. doi:10.1177/0959683611425551. hdl:10289/5936. S2CID 129928745.
- ^ Illsley-Kemp, Finnigan; Barker, Simon J.; Wilson, Colin J. N.; Chamberlain, Calum J.; Hreinsdóttir, Sigrún; Ellis, Susan; Hamling, Ian J.; Savage, Martha K.; Mestel, Eleanor R. H.; Wadsworth, Fabian B. (1 June 2021). "Volcanic Unrest at Taupō Volcano in 2019: Causes, Mechanisms and Implications". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 22 (6): 1–27. doi:10.1029/2021GC009803.
- ^ Climate, History and the Modern World, Lamb, H. (1995), Routledge
- ^ a b de Ronde, C. E. J.; Stoffers, P.; Garbe-Schönberg, D.; Christenson, B. W.; Jones, B.; Manconi, R.; Browne, P. R. L.; Hissmann, K.; Botz, R.; Davy, B. W.; Schmitt, M.; Battershill, C. N. (2002). "Discovery of active hydrothermal venting in Lake Taupo, New Zealand". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 115 (3–4): 257–275. Bibcode:2002JVGR..115..257D. doi:10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00332-8.
- ^ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Extremophile. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC
- ^ "GeoNet Taupo". GeoNet.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mean Daily Maximum Temperatures". NIWA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ "Mean Daily Minimum Temperatures". NIWA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ "Mean Monthly Rainfall". NIWA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ Byrne, Conor (19 January 2020). "'Exhaustion, exposure, hypothermia' all possible in Lake Taupo record swim". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Ngātoroirangi Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings". www.lovetaupo.com. 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "New deed of settlement for Lake Taupo" (Press release).
- ^ "Devastating landslide at Lake Taupō". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Ben G. Mason; David M. Pyle; Clive Oppenheimer (2004). "The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth". Bulletin of Volcanology. 66 (8): 735–748. Bibcode:2004BVol...66..735M. doi:10.1007/s00445-004-0355-9. S2CID 129680497.
- "Taupo". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
External links
[edit]
- Great Lake Taupō Official Visitor Information Website
- Tūrangi and Lake Taupō Website
- Lake Taupō Webcam
- Lake Taupō at the Waikato Regional Council
- Lake Taupō area at the Department of Conservation
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