page_title: Mount Tongariro
section_title: 2012 Te Māri eruptions
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Tongariro / History / 2012 Te Māri eruptions
caption_attribution_description: English: The image of eruption of Mt Tongariro from NASA
context_page_description: Mount Tongariro is a compound volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres to the southwest of Lake Taupo, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of the central North Island.
context_section_description: At 11:50 pm (NZST, UTC+12) on 6 August 2012, Mt Tongariro had what was initially believed to be a hydrothermal eruption after a month of increased activity. The eruption occurred at the Te Māri Craters, which had been dormant since 1897.
  The eruption occurred in a new vent below the Upper Te Māri crater, and sent blocks as large as 1 metre (3 ft) in size up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the vent.
  An ash cloud 6.1 kilometres (3.8 mi) high deposited ash into the surrounding area, especially to the east of the volcano. The ash cloud travelled 250 kilometres (160 mi) in four hours. NIWA reported the ash cloud contained about 10,000 cubic metres (350,000 cu ft) of ash, and that the ash cloud was 25 kilometres (16 mi) long and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide 39 minutes after the eruption. Ash and the smell of sulphur was reported in Napier and Hastings. The smell of sulphur was also reported in Wellington, Nelson and Blenheim.
  State Highway 1 to the east and State Highway 46 to the north of the mountain each received up to 5 centimetres (2 in) of ash cover, and were closed until the following morning due to ash and low visibility. A layer of ash 10–15 millimetres (0.4–0.6 in) thick settled on farmland 5 to 10 km (3.1 to 6.2 mi) east of Mount Tongariro. Particle sizes were between 2 and 3 millimetres (0.08 and 0.12 in). The airspace within a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) radius of the mountain was closed after the eruption, but later reopened to visual flights only. Air New Zealand cancelled some flights in and out of Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, Napier, Wanganui and Palmerston North due to the risk of volcanic ash clogging the engines on their aircraft serving those airports.
  No injuries were reported, and the only significant property damage was to the Department of Conservation's Ketetahi Hut, which is located 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) west of the Te Māri Craters. There was no official evacuation but 24 people living along State Highway 46 fled their homes for fear of being isolated.
  Mount Tongariro erupted again at 1:20 pm on 21 November, ejecting an ash cloud 4000 metres into the air. Flights in the area were cancelled, as were several the following morning. Geologists had no warning before the eruption, saying it wasn't linked to warnings the week before of elevated activity at nearby Mount Ruapehu.
caption: NASA satellite image of the August 2012 eruption, from Suomi NPP
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