ABSTRACT
Tectonically, Aotearoa-New Zealand lies on the rim of the Pacific Plate which meets the Indo-Australian Plate at this point on the Earth’s surface. Similar geological processes occur here as with Japan, the west coast of the United States and the rest of the Pacific Rim. However those at work in the North Island of New Zealand are a result of the Pacific Plate sliding under the Indo-Australian Plate, while those of the South Island are a result of the two plates directly meeting each other. This latter collision has created the Southern Alps mountain range. In the North Island, the result of the geological process is volcanic activity and this is centred in Rotorua and the Central Plateau area of the Island, collectively known as the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). Mt Tongariro, which gives its name to the national park that is the primary focus of this chapter, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu are the three main volcanoes at the Central Plateau end of the TVZ. These volcanoes are active – Mt Ruapehu as recently as 1995 and 1996 and Mt Ngauruhoe in 1972 – and it is this fact that both creates and constrains the patterns of tourism found in this area.
