Whakaari / White Island
| Whakaari/White Island | |
|---|---|
 Whakaari/White Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 321 m (1,053 ft) |
| Prominence | 321 m (1,053 ft) |
| Geography | |
.png)  Whakaari/White Island Location of Whakaari/White Island | |
| Standort | Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Taupo Volcanic Zone |
| Last eruption | 2001 [1] |
Whakaari/White Island is an active andesite stratovolcano, situated 48 km from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatane and Tauranga.
The island is roughly circular, about two km in diameter, and rises to a height of 321 m above sea level. However this is only the peak of a much larger submarine mountain, which rises up to 1600 m above the nearby seafloor.
Sulphur mining was attempted but was abandoned in 1914 after a lahar killed all 10 workers. The main activities on the island now are guided tours and scientific research.
Volcanology
Whakaari's eruptions have produced both lava flows and explosive eruptions of ash. It is New Zealand's only active marine volcano and perhaps the most accessible on earth, attracting scientists and volcanologists worldwide as well as many tourists. It is part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.
Volcanologists from the GeoNet Project continually monitor the volcano’s activity via surveillance cameras. Survey pegs, magnetometers and seismograph equipment for early earthquake warnings via radio have also been installed on the crater walls. The island is usually on an alert level rating of 1 or 2 on a scale of 1–5. At most times the volcanic activity is limited to steaming fumaroles and boiling mud. In March 2000, three small vents appeared in the main crater and began belching ash which covered the island in fine grey powder. An eruption on July 27, 2000 blanketed the island with mud and scoria and a new crater appeared. Major eruptions in 1981–83 altered much of the island’s landscape and decimated the extensive pōhutukawa forest. The large crater created at that time now contains a lake, whose level varies substantially.
History
The full Māori name for the island is 'Te Puia o Whakaari', meaning 'The Dramatic Volcano.' It was named 'White Island' by Captain Cook on October 1, 1769 because it always appeared to be in a cloud of white steam. Although Cook went close to the island he failed to notice that it was a volcano. Its official name is Whakaari/White Island although it is most well-known as White Island.
Attempts were made in the mid 1880s, 1898-1901 and 1913-1914 to mine sulphur from Whakaari but the last of these came to a halt in September 1914, when part of the western crater rim collapsed, creating a lahar which killed all 10 workers.[2] They disappeared without trace, and only a camp cat survived. He was found some days afterwards by the resupply ship, and dubbed "Peter the Great". He was taken back safely to the mainland, and went on to father many a kitten[3][4] Some years later in 1923 mining was again attempted, but learning from the 1914 disaster, the miners built their huts on a flat part of the island near a gannet colony. Each day they would lower their boat into the sea from a gantry, and row around to the mining factory wharf in Crater Bay. If the sea was rough they had to clamber around the rocks on a very narrow track on the crater’s edge. Before the days of antibiotics, sulphur was used in medicines as an antibacterial agent, in the making of match heads, and for sterilising wine corks. The miner’s diggings were handled in small rail trucks to the crushing and bagging process in the factory built on the island. Unfortunately, there was not enough sulphur at Whakaari and so the ground up rock was used as a component of agricultural fertiliser. Eventually the mining ended in the 1930s because of the poor mineral content in the fertiliser. The remains of the buildings can still be seen, much corroded by the sulphuric gases.
Access
Whakaari is privately owned and was declared a private scenic reserve in 1953 and is subject to the provision of the Reserves Act 1977. Visitors cannot land without permission or remove or disturb any wildlife and must leave only their footprints. However, it is easily accessible by authorised tourist operators. Weather permitting, a luxury motor launch leaves Whakatane daily for a six-hour day trip. Helicopter and aeroplane trips are also available from Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatane.
The waters surrounding White Island are well known for their fishing. Yellowtail kingfish abound all year round, and there is deep water fishing for hapuka and bluenose (type of warehou) in the winter and blue, black and striped marlin and yellowfin tuna in the summer. A small charter fleet offering day trips and overnight or longer trips operates from the nearby port at Whakatane.
Dino
In May 2004 a Dino figurine was glued to a rock in front of the Geonet volcano camera on the island. Geonet decided not to have it removed, assuming it was a plastic toy and would not survive long in the corrosive environment.[5] As of December 2009, the figurine was still present and did not appear visibly degraded.[6]
According to Craig Miller, the GeoNet Volcano Network Coordinator, the environment around the volcano has been relatively benign, even to the point that vegetation has been regrowing since the last eruptions in 2000, which may explain why the toy is still in good condition.[7] . Another possible scenario is that the figurine is made out of porcelain[8] and as such would not be affected by any corrosive gasses.
Sometime between Jul 23rd and Jul 24th, 2009 at 9:00 am NZST, the Dino figure has been moved to another location on camera.
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The crater lake in 2004 -
The crater lake in 2005 -
Short video of sulphurous fumarole
See also
References
- "White Island". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- Volcanic Hazards at White Island
- Volcano World: White Island
- ^ "White Island - Eruptive History". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ Boon, Kevin. "The 1914 White Island eruption". URL accessed 4 December 2007. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5TqkjKdYS)
- ^ Sarah Lowe and Kim Westerskov (1993). "Steam and brimstone", New Zealand Geographic 17, 82-106.
- ^ Norton, Amelia. "White Island: Where Nature Reigns Supreme". Four Corners. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- ^ ABC News Online. Volcanologists spy pink 'dinosaur' on remote webcam. Accessed 4 December 2007. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5TqlCycX5)
- ^ White Island volcano camera, Geonet. Accessed 16 October 2008.
- ^ The Press. White Island dino survives. Accessed 31 August 2009
- ^ www.goantiques.com Beswick Figure 'DINO'. Accessed 24 August 2008.
External links
