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Pupuke Moana (Lake Pupuke)

Ariel view of Pupuke Moana (Lake Pupuke), Auckland, New Zealand.

On Auckland’s North Shore, this is a classic example of a maar volcano. It formed through a series of wet explosive (phreatomagmatic) eruptions that excavated a large double crater around 190,000 years ago. Before these highly explosive eruptions, Pupuke Moana was a low shield volcano, built from overlapping basaltic lava flows and possibly small scoria cones. The lava from explosions at Lake Pupuke trapped many trees, which have become fossilised. These are still visible at Takapuna Beach (Takapuna Fossil Forest).

Glossary

Rights: Bruce Hayward
Published: 9 April 2010Updated: 5 March 2026Size: 563.33 KB
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