Re: What is the volcanic history of Mt ruapehu NZ

If we consider historical time, the earliest eruption recorded was in 1861. In 1895 a big eruption was recorded, and many other smaller ones were observed until 1945, when a lake was created in the crater. By 1953 this lake had a depth of 8 meters, and in 24/December/1953 this lake had collapsed, resulting in the death of 151 lives by a railroad disaster. In 1969 and 1975 some smaller disasters like these caused extensive damage to skifield facilities and to alpine huts on Ruapehu.

In the early 1995`s some small eruptions were detected, and this was an active year for this volcano, with a big eruption in 23/september, ana a new lake was formed in the crater. In 17 June 1996 a big ash emission was observed in the volcano.

You can find the complete history of this volcano at the address http://www.gns.cri.nz/what/earthact/volcanoes/nzvolcanoes/ruabookprint.htm

Best regards,

Eder C. Molina
IAG-USP
University of Sao Paulo
Brazil