Everything about The Oruanui Eruption totally explained
The
Oruanui eruption of
New Zealand's
Taupo volcano was the world's largest known eruption in the past 70,000 years, with a
Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8. It occurred around 26,500
Before Present in
Late Pleistocene and generated approximately 430 km³ of
pyroclastic fall deposits, 320 km³ of
pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits (mostly
ignimbrite) and 420 km³ of primary intracaldera material, equivalent to 530 km³ of
magma. The eruption is divided into 10 phases on the basis of nine mappable fall units and a tenth, poorly preserved but volumetrically dominant fall unit.
Modern
Lake Taupo partly fills the
caldera generated during this eruption; a 140 km² structural collapse area is concealed beneath the lake, while the lake outline reflects coeval peripheral and volcano-tectonic collapse. Early eruption phases saw shifting vent positions; development of the caldera to its maximum extent (indicated by lithic lag
breccias) occurred during phase 10.
The Oruanui eruption shows many unusual features; its episodic nature, wide range of depositional conditions in fall deposits of very wide dispersal, and complex interplay of falls and pyroclastic flows.
Tephra from the eruption covered much of the central
North Island with ignimbrite up to 200 metres deep. Most of New Zealand was affected by ashfall, with even an 18 cm ash layer left on the
Chatham Islands, 1,000 km away. Later erosion and sedimentation had long-lasting effects on the landscape, and caused the
Waikato River to shift from the
Hauraki Plains to its current course through the Waikato to the
Tasman Sea.
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