Rangitoto Island is a
volcanic island
Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
in the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,[Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...](_blank)
, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more vi ...
cone, reaching a height of .
Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the
Auckland volcanic field
The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a diverse a ...
, with its present form related to an eruption about 600 years ago
and covering an area of .
It is separated from the mainland of Auckland's
North Shore by the
Rangitoto Channel. Since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, it has been linked by a causeway to the much older, non-volcanic
Motutapu Island
Motutapu Island (otherwise known as ''Motutapu'') is a island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. Its full name, rarely used, is ''Te Motutapu a Taikeh ...
.
is
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
for 'Bloody Sky',
[What happened to local Maori?](_blank)
(from the Rangitoto page on the GNS Science website) with the name coming from the full phrase ("The days of the bleeding of Tama-te-kapua").
Tama-te-kapua
In Māori tradition of New Zealand, Tama-te-kapua, also spelt Tamatekapua and Tama-te-Kapua and also known as Tama, was the captain of the '' Arawa'' canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350.
The reason for his leaving his ...
was the captain of the (canoe) and was badly wounded on the island, after having lost a battle with the (tribe) at Islington Bay.
Geology
Rangitoto is now known in a series of studies from 2013 to 2016 to have a complex eruptive history that may have involved smaller now buried volcanoes.
The view that it was formed during a single phase of eruptions that may have lasted only 5–10 years, about 600 years ago and previous inferences that it was formed by a series of eruptions commencing at least 6000 years ago are probably resolved towards the former view of a single recent predominant eruption with the qualification that volcanic activity under the present location of Rangitoto commenced several thousand years ago.
Microfossil evidence suggests that prior to 7,500 years ago, a low-lying
maar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallo ...
crater and
tuff ring complex was located at the site of Rangitoto, similar to the modern-day
Onepoto tidal lagoon.
The first part of the most recent eruption sequence was wet and produced surges of volcanic ash that mantles neighbouring Motutapu Island. The later part of the eruption was dry and built most of Rangitoto, erupting all the lava flows and
scoria cone
Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ...
s at the apex. The of material that erupted from the volcano was about equal to the combined by all the previous eruptions in the Auckland volcanic field, which were spread over more than 200,000 years.
[Rangitoto](_blank)
(from the Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...
website)[Rangitoto](_blank)
(abridged article from ''New Zealand National Geographic'')
Eruptive history
In 2013, scientists from Auckland University reported based on nearby lake sediments that Rangitoto had been much more active in the past than previously thought, suggesting it had been active on and off for around 1000 years before the final eruptions around 550 years ago (BP= before 1950).
In February 2014, a deep hole was drilled through the western flank of Rangitoto. The same group of university scientists reported that it revealed a long history of spasmodic eruptions going back at least 6000 years, although the bulk of activity post-dated 650 years.
Civil Defence officials said the discovery did not make living in Auckland any more dangerous, but did change their view of how an eruption might proceed. These headline-grabbing results were controversial and not accepted by all geologists initially and two hypothesis continued in the peer reviewed literature. In 2020 many of the original group of Auckland University geologists reported on their latest research and reinterpretation of the evidence
and noted that as few as two out of about 48 lava flow determinations that built most of the volcanoes bulk were outside the magnetism values expected for a single predominant eruption that lasted for a period of less than about 100 years. This suggested a long period of dormancy of the prior smaller lava eruption of about 1000 years, before the main short volcano building phase as postulated in 2016, which is consistent with a monogenetic Auckland volcanic field. While it is possible that Rangitoto buried one or more smaller volcanoes, to date there is no definite evidence to support this idea so a single old Rangitoto volcano is still possible.
Structure
Subsidence back down the throat during the cooling process has left a moat-like ring around the crater summit, which may be viewed from a path which goes right round the rim and up to the highest point.
[Hauraki Gulf Islands – Rangitoto Island](_blank)
, Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
. Updated September 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2009. In some parts of the island, fields of
clinker
Clinker may refer to:
*Clinker (boat building), construction method for wooden boats
*Clinker (waste), waste from industrial processes
*Clinker (cement), a kilned then quenched cement product
* ''Clinkers'' (album), a 1978 album by saxophonist St ...
-like black lava stones are exposed, appearing very recent to a casual eye. About 200 metres from the top of the mountain on the eastern side visitors can walk through some of about seven known
lava tube
A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave.
Formation
A lava tube is a type of lava ...
s — tubes left behind after the passage of liquid lava. The more accessible of the caves are signposted.
Lava tubes are formed when low-viscosity molten lava known as
pahoehoe flows and cools on the outside due to contact with the ground and air, to form a hard crust allowing the still-liquid molten lava to continue to flow through inside. At Rangitoto the large tubes are cave-like. A torch is needed to explore the caves. The longest known cave is about 50 m long.
Biology
Because there are virtually no streams on the island, plants rely on
rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
for moisture. It has the largest forest of
pohutukawa trees in the world,
as well as many
northern rata trees. In total, more than 200 species of trees and flowers thrive on the island, including several species of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...
, as well as more than 40 types of
ferns.
The vegetation pattern was influenced by the more recent eruptions creating lava flow crevices where
pohutukawa trees (''Metrosideros ssp'') grow.
The island is considered especially significant because all stages from raw
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
fields to
scrub establishment and sparse forests are visible. As lava fields contain no soil of the typical kind, windblown matter and slow breaking-down processes of the native flora are still in the process of transforming the island into a more habitable area for most plants (an example of
primary succession), which is one of the reasons why the local forests are relatively young and do not yet support a large bird population. However, the
kaka
Kaka may refer to:
People Nickname or given name Sports
* Carlos Augusto dos Santos da Silva (born 1987), Brazil-born Italy international futsal player
* Kaká (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
* Kaká (footballe ...
, a New Zealand-endemic
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
, is thought to have lived on the island in pre-European times.
Goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s were present on Rangitoto in large numbers in the mid 19th century and survived until the 1880s.
Fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
were introduced to Motutapu in 1862 and spread to Rangitoto, but disappeared by the 1980s. The
brush-tailed rock-wallaby was introduced to Motutapu in 1873, and was common on Rangitoto by 1912, and the
brushtail possum
The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hy ...
was introduced in 1931 and again in 1946. Both were eradicated in a campaign from 1990 to 1996 using
1080 and
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
poison and dogs. The eradication campaign did not have a significant effect on bird species diversity and abundance, due to the presence of other predators.
Stoats,
rabbits
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...
,
mice
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
,
rats,
cats and
hedgehogs remained a problem on the island,
but the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
(DOC) aimed to eradicate them beginning with the poisoning of
black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...
s,
brown rats and mice and in August 2011, both Rangitoto and neighbouring Motutapu Islands were officially declared pest-free with both islands now also boasting populations of newly translocated
North Island saddlebacks.
As the area is a DOC-administered reserve (in partnership with the ''
tangata whenua''
Ngāi Tai
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
and
Ngāti Paoa
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
),
visitors may not take dogs or other animals onto the islands.
History
Māori association
The volcano erupted within the historical memory of the local
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
iwi (tribes).
Human footprints have been found between layers of Rangitoto volcanic ash on the adjoining
Motutapu Island
Motutapu Island (otherwise known as ''Motutapu'') is a island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. Its full name, rarely used, is ''Te Motutapu a Taikeh ...
.
Ngāi Tai
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
was the iwi living on Motutapu, and considers both islands their ancestral home.
Ngāti Paoa
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
also has links with Rangitoto.
The name literally means "red sky", and is linked to a traditional story of a fight between
Tama-te-kapua
In Māori tradition of New Zealand, Tama-te-kapua, also spelt Tamatekapua and Tama-te-Kapua and also known as Tama, was the captain of the '' Arawa'' canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350.
The reason for his leaving his ...
, captain of the ''
Arawa'' canoe, and
Hoturoa, captain of the ''
Tainui'' canoe. The name ("The days of the bleeding of Tama-te-kapua") refers to how Tama-te-kapua was injured in the fight.
The peaks of the island were known by the names Ngā Pona Toru o Peretū ("The Three Knuckles of Peretū") or Ngā Tuaitara o Taikehu ("The Dorsal Fins of Taikehu").
Rangitoto is associated with many traditional stories and myths. One involves Tiriwa (the namesake of the traditil name for the
Waitākere Ranges
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...
, Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa), a chief of the supernatural
Tūrehu people, who uplifted Rangitoto from
Karekare on the west coast, as a show of his strength.
Others involvev a '
tupua' couple, children of the Fire Gods. After quarreling and cursing
Mahuika, the fire-goddess, they lost their home on the mainland because it was destroyed by
Mataoho
Mataaho (also known as Mataaoho and Mataoho) is a Māori deity. Variously considered a god of earthquakes and eruptions, the guardian of the earth's secrets, the god of volcanic forces, or a giant, Mataaho is associated with many of the volcan ...
, god of earthquakes and eruptions, on Mahuika's behalf.
Lake Pupuke on the North Shore was created in the destruction, while Rangitoto rose from the sea. The mists surrounding Rangitoto at certain times are called the tears of the tupua for their former home.
Since European colonisation
The island was purchased for £15 by the
Crown in 1854, very early in New Zealand's colonisation by Europeans, and for many years served as a source of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
for the local construction industry.
It was set aside as a recreation reserve in 1890, and became a favourite spot for daytrippers.
Some development occurred nonetheless. In 1892, salt works were created on near Mackenzies Bay. The wharf and summit road were opened in 1897, with another road linking the summit to Islington Bay by 1900. For over 30 years (from 1898 to 1930),
scoria was
quarried
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
from near the shoreline on the west side of Islington Bay as building material for Auckland.
From 1925 to 1936, prison labour built roads on the island and a track to the summit.
Islington Bay was formed in the southeast area of the island. Formerly known as Drunks Bay, it was used as a drying out area for inebriated crews before they ventured out of the gulf. The bay is used by Auckland boat-owners as a refuge, as it is quite sheltered from the prevailing southwest winds.
Military installations were built during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to support the
Auckland harbour defences and to house
U.S. troops or store
mines. The most visited remains of these installations is the old
observation post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...
on the summit. The northern shore of the island was used as a wrecking ground for unwanted ships, and the
remains of several wrecks are still visible at low tide. At least 13 ships were wrecked from 1887, the last being the former
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
and, later,
Waiheke
Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland.
It is the most ...
ferry, Duchess, in June 1947.
Baches (small holiday houses) were built around the island's edge in the 1920s and 1930s. The legality of their existence was doubtful from the start and the building of further baches was banned in 1937. Most have since been removed because of the ban and because the island has become a scenic reserve. However, 30 of the 140 baches remain ,
and some are being preserved to show how the island used to be, once boasting a permanent community of several hundred people, including many children. The buildings included some more permanent structures like a seawater pool built of quarried stones by convict labour, located close to the current ferry quay.
Access and tourism
Regular ferry services and island tours by tractor-trailer are provided by
Fullers from
Auckland city centre. A boardwalk with around 300 steps allows visitors to reach the summit and enjoy a view of the wooded crater. The distance to the summit is , a one–hour walk by the most direct route.
An alternative to walking, a land train, coordinated with the ferry sailings, takes visitors to a short way below the summit.
[Rangitoto Island – Unique Volcanic Island](_blank)
(from the Fullers ferry operator website) Sea kayak trips from the mainland to the island are also available.
There are no campsites on the island, though there is camping at Home Bay on the adjacent Motutapu Island.
See also
*
Auckland volcanic field
The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a diverse a ...
*
Volcanism in New Zealand
*
List of volcanoes in New Zealand
This is a partial list of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in New Zealand.
Kermadec Arc and Havre Trough
North Island
Taupō Volcanic Zone
Elsewhere
Mangakino Culdera
South Island
Other
Ross Dependency
New Zealand a ...
* ''
Under the Mountain
''Under the Mountain'' is a 1979 children's book by New Zealand writer Maurice Gee. It has been adapted into a 1981 television miniseries, a 2009 film and stage show.
Plot
Beneath the extinct volcanoes surrounding the city, giant creature ...
'' is a novel,
TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
and
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
set around Rangitoto.
References
Further reading
*
* Julian, Andrea (1992)
The vegetation pattern of Rangitoto University of Auckland PhD thesis
* Whiting, Diana (1986)
Vegetation colonisation of Rangitoto Island: the role of crevice microclimate University of Auckland Masters thesis
*
*''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. .
External links
Rangitoto Island Scenic Reserveat the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
Rangitoto Island Historic Conservation Trustheld in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Auckland volcanic field
Auckland volcanic field
Islands of the Hauraki Gulf
Island restoration
Islands of the Auckland Region
Monogenetic shield volcanoes
Protected areas of New Zealand
Shield volcanoes of New Zealand
Tourist attractions in the Auckland Region
Volcanic islands of New Zealand
Volcanoes of the Auckland Region
Lookouts in Auckland