Tangaroa

Photo of this volcano
Country New Zealand
Volcanic Region Southern Kermadec Volcanic Arc
Landform | Volc Type Composite | Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption Unknown - Unrest / Holocene
Coordinates 36.321°S, 178.028°E
Elevation -600 m (-1,969 ft)
Volcano Number 241102
Google Earth icon Google Earth Placemark with Features
Citation icon Cite Volcano Profile

Latest Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports available for Tangaroa.

Latest Bulletin Report

Bulletin Report for June 1992 (BGVN 17:06) Citation IconCite this Report

New submarine volcano identified; no gas bubbling

Three previously unknown submarine arc stratovolcanoes have been identified at the S end of the Kermadec Ridge: Rumble V (36.140°S, 178.195°E, summit 700 m below sea level); Tangaroa (36.318°S, 178.031°E, summit 1,350 m below sea level); and Clark (36.423°S, 177.845°E, summit 1,150 m below sea level) (figure 1). All three have basal diameters of 16-18 km and rise from the seafloor at ~2,300 m depth. The first evidence of the volcanoes was from GLORIA side-scan mapping of the southern Havre Trough-Kermadec Ridge region in 1988 (Wright, 1990). Later investigations, including a photographic and rock-dredge study during the 3-week Rapuhia cruise (early 1992), confirmed previous interpretations. Side-scan and photographic data show a complex terrain of lava flows and talus fans on the flanks of all three volcanoes, with the most pristine-looking morphology at Rumble V. During the 1992 cruise, gas bubbles were detected acoustically, rising from the crests of Rumble III, IV, and V. No gas bubbling was evident from Tangaroa or Clark. Bathymetric surveys indicated that the summits of the shallowest volcanoes, Rumble III and IV, were at ~140 and 450 m, respectively, below the sea surface.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Sketch map of New Zealand's North Island and the southern Kermadec Ridge area, with locations of young volcanoes. Courtesy of Ian Wright.

Reference. Wright, I.C., 1990, Bay of Plenty-Southern Havre Trough physiography, 1:400,000: New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Chart, Miscellaneous Series no. 68.

Information Contacts: I. Wright, New Zealand Oceanographic Institute, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington.

Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Tangaroa.

Bulletin Reports

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

Index with Summary Sentence

06/1992 (BGVN 17:06) New submarine volcano identified; no gas bubbling

Report Narratives

Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


June 1992 (BGVN 17:06) Citation IconCite this Report

New submarine volcano identified; no gas bubbling

Three previously unknown submarine arc stratovolcanoes have been identified at the S end of the Kermadec Ridge: Rumble V (36.140°S, 178.195°E, summit 700 m below sea level); Tangaroa (36.318°S, 178.031°E, summit 1,350 m below sea level); and Clark (36.423°S, 177.845°E, summit 1,150 m below sea level) (figure 1). All three have basal diameters of 16-18 km and rise from the seafloor at ~2,300 m depth. The first evidence of the volcanoes was from GLORIA side-scan mapping of the southern Havre Trough-Kermadec Ridge region in 1988 (Wright, 1990). Later investigations, including a photographic and rock-dredge study during the 3-week Rapuhia cruise (early 1992), confirmed previous interpretations. Side-scan and photographic data show a complex terrain of lava flows and talus fans on the flanks of all three volcanoes, with the most pristine-looking morphology at Rumble V. During the 1992 cruise, gas bubbles were detected acoustically, rising from the crests of Rumble III, IV, and V. No gas bubbling was evident from Tangaroa or Clark. Bathymetric surveys indicated that the summits of the shallowest volcanoes, Rumble III and IV, were at ~140 and 450 m, respectively, below the sea surface.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Sketch map of New Zealand's North Island and the southern Kermadec Ridge area, with locations of young volcanoes. Courtesy of Ian Wright.

Reference. Wright, I.C., 1990, Bay of Plenty-Southern Havre Trough physiography, 1:400,000: New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Chart, Miscellaneous Series no. 68.

Information Contacts: I. Wright, New Zealand Oceanographic Institute, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington.

General Information

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Tangaroa. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Tangaroa page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Synonyms and Subfeatures

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Tangaroa.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Tangaroa in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites