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Country: | New Zealand | |
| Subregion Name: | New Zealand | ||
| Volcano Number: | 0401-04= | ||
| Volcano Type: | Stratovolcanoes | ||
| Volcano Status: | Historical | ||
| Last Known Eruption: | 2001 | ||
| Summit Elevation: | 321 m | 1,053 feet | |
| Latitude: | 37.52°S | 37°31'0"S | |
| Longitude: | 177.18°E | 177°11'0"E | |
| Uninhabited 2 x 2.4 km White Island, one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes, is the emergent summit of a 16 x 18 km submarine volcano in the Bay of Plenty about 50 km offshore of North Island. The 321-m-high island consists of two overlapping andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcanoes; the summit crater appears to be breached to the SE because the shoreline corresponds to the level of several notches in the SE crater wall. Volckner Rocks, four sea stacks that are remnants of a lava dome, lie 5 km NNE of White Island. Intermittent moderate phreatomagmatic and strombolian eruptions have occurred at White Island throughout the short historical period beginning in 1826, but its activity also forms a prominent part of Maori legends. Formation of many new vents during the 19th and 20th centuries has produced rapid changes in crater floor topography. Collapse of the crater wall in 1914 produced a debris avalanche that buried buildings and workers at a sulfur-mining project. | |||
