Tāmaki Makaurau – city of volcanoes
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland truly is a city of volcanoes. There are over 53 volcanoes within an area of 360 square kilometres, forming the hills, lakes and basins of the city. All of Auckland’s volcanoes come from one source – a pool of magma that lies under the city and is known as the Auckland Volcanic Field or Ngā Tapuwae ō Mataaho.
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland Volcanic Field covers around 360 square kilometres directly under Auckland city. It includes over 53 individual volcanic centres, each of which is considered unlikely to erupt again. However, the field as a whole remains potentially active. Find out about some of these volcanoes in this interactive map.
Select here for the interactive's transcript and copyright information.
Each volcanic centre in Auckland stems from a separate eruption from the Auckland Volcanic Field. It’s unlikely that the magma will push through in the same place twice, so each volcano we see on today’s landscape can be considered as dormant and unlikely to ever erupt again. However, the underlying magma source itself is still active and may cause an eruption in the future.
Humans have lived in Tāmaki Makaurau for around 1,000 years. Mana whenua made use of the volcanic soils to grow food crops and used the maunga to develop substantial pā sites. Pākehā later settled in the area. Some of the Auckland Volcanic Field's features (small hills and pits) have been built over while others have been preserved as parks and/or returned to iwi and cared for by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
Rarotonga (Mt Smart)
A scoria cone volcano formed around 20,000 years ago. It was originally around 80 m high but has been extensively quarried over the past 100 years for basalt and scoria. It is now home to Mt Smart Stadium.
DEVORA – assessing volcanic hazards and risks in Auckland
The DEVORA (DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland) programme brings together researchers from across Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond to assess volcanic hazards and risks in Auckland. As part of their outreach, the DEVORA team uses infographics to raise awareness about the Auckland Volcanic Field and the importance of understanding the local environment and landscape.
City of volcanoes – the Auckland Volcanic Field Ngā Tapuwae ō Mataaho
This infographic fact sheet provides an introduction to the volcanoes dotting Auckland in New Zealand’s North Island.
Download the infographic as a PDF.
Using infographics as teaching tools
Science knowledge is often communicated through visual representations – graphs, diagrams and infographics. Each type of visual representation has literacy components that ākonga may need support to understand. The science capability ‘Interpret representations’ encourages ākonga to think about how data is presented, what the representation tells us and how it gets the message across.
Interrogate the infographic with questions – for example:
Who created the infographic?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the central theme?
Are there subthemes?
What makes the message credible?
What other information might you need to understand the infographic?
Are there specific scientific words or terms?
Where can you find the information that might fill in these gaps?
By their nature, infographics use concise text, so we’ve placed each DEVORA infographic within an article that includes background information and links to related content. Use them to explore and deepen understanding of concepts within the infographics.
DEVORA’s suite of infographics:
City of volcanoes – the Auckland Volcanic Field Ngā Tapuwae ō Mataaho supported by the article Tāmaki Makaurau – city of volcanoes.
Hidden eruptions – the search for Auckland’s volcanic past supported by the article The search for Auckland’s volcanic past.
Rangitoto: odd one out – the story of Auckland’s largest volcano supported by the article Rangitoto – Auckland’s largest volcano.
Eruption impacts – how would an eruption in Tāmaki Makaurau impact the city? supported by the article Auckland Volcanic Field – eruption impacts.
The floor is lava – lava flows from Auckland’s volcanoes supported by the article Lava flows from Auckland’s volcanoes.
Ngā maunga – a brief history of maunga (mountains) in the Auckland Volcanic Field supported by the article Ngā maunga – Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s volcanic field.
Volcanic gas, acid rain and ash from possible future Auckland Volcanic Field eruptions supported by the article Volcanic gases – impacts on air quality.
Nature of science in the curriculum
Developing visual and numerical literacies such as those used in infographics supports students to analyse and interpret data. The infographics also enable students to engage with science in social and cultural contexts.
Related content and activity ideas
The article Volcanoes resources – planning pathways provides additional pedagogical information. It also includes the interactive Planning pathways using volcano resources, in which we curate resources into key science concepts and topics. This curation has a specific focus on Auckland’s volcanoes.
The DEVORA programme aims to educate the public so that we know how to act during a possible volcanic event. Use these activities to show how scientists and others help us stay safe during emergencies:
Watching Rangitoto erupt – ākonga read the book Rangitoto and write their own story of Rangitoto, from the point of view of Māori who were on Motutapu at the time of the eruption.
Who’s on your team? – ākonga work in small groups to select a 6-member disaster response team from a set of 12 biography cards.
Home disaster kit – ākonga select items to include in a home disaster kit in case of emergency.
5-Minute Volcano – an active, collaborative board game about natural disaster preparedness.
Magma Drillers Save Planet Earth – a collaborative game in which ākonga take on a variety of scientific roles
Useful links
Visit the DEVORA website to learn more about its work – including teaching resources and opportunities for free outreach.
Acknowledgement
This resource has been produced with the support of DEVORA (DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland).
DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland (DEVORA)
DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland (DEVORA) is a multi-agency, transdisciplinary, collaborative research programme led by volcanologists at the University of Auckland and Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly GNS Science) and funded by the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) and Auckland Council.