Geology of New Zealand Field Trip Guidebook - ResearchGate

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most painful burns were to lips. Several folks woke up the next morning feeling like we had spent the night in a lip lock with a hot iron. Recovery took about ten days. Be forewarned! Hats and sunglasses are an absolute must and even with that you will need to periodically reapply sunscreen and some type of lip protection. Tongariro Crossing “Best Day Hike in NZ”—This is a 17 km, 6-8 hour hike that starts on the south side of the Tongariro complex, threads its way between the Ngauruhoe and Red Crater vents and then and down the north side. In addition to spectacular scenery, watch for the features below on your walk. See Figure 13 for details of the route. Note that several hundred people will make this walk on a good weather day. Some things to look for on your hike: Mt. Taranaki (aka Mt. Egmont). If it is a clear day, you may be able to look west as you ascend toward South Crater and see this snow-covered stratocone volcano in the distance. The summit of Taranaki is about 120 km away. We will not visit this volcano, but if you have some extra time in New Zealand and enjoy hiking in rugged country, Taranaki is well worth a visit. Mt. Ngauruhoe. You will cross the north flank of this cinder cone and it will dominate much of the early portion of your hike. Look for lava flows that have moved down its flanks. This is Mount Doom. Watch out for orcs! Red Crater. This vent erupted explosively in 1855 and 1926 and is probably the source for some of the most recent lava flows on Tongariro. The crater is at the top of a scoria cone intruded by dikes. In one of these, molten material in the center of the dike receded, leaving frozen dike margins and a central void—look for it as your walk by Red Crater. North Crater. This flat-topped cone, capped by a 1100 m wide crater, is filled with a solidified lava lake. A 300 m wide explosion pit is present on the northwest margin with ejected blocks up to 9 m across. We won’t take the detour to get here, but you’ll be able to see it from Red Crater. Emerald Lakes. Three water-filled explosion craters with blue-green waters. Dissolved minerals from adjacent thermal springs give the water its intense color. Blue Lake. A 400 m diameter circular, lake-filled crater. Adjacent slopes are mantled with a coarse- grained, partially welded volcanic breccia. (The clasts were still hot enough to “stick” to each other and deform as they landed.) This deposit is believed to represent fallout from a fountaining vent of magma. Blue Lake is sacred to the Maori people. Do not enter the water. Descent from Blue Lake. Look for views of Lake Taupo along the horizon to the north. Recall that Lake Taupo occupies a set of overlapping collapse calderas from volcanoes that dwarf the combined volcanic production of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro by several orders of magnitude. 42
Figure 13: Map and topographic profile for the Tongariro Crossing. CAUTION: This walk is similar in distance to the crater rim walk we did at Lamington National Park; however, the environment is much more harsh and unpredictable. You must be prepared. We will not undertake the Crossing unless the weather looks good, but conditions can change rapidly and without warning. You should carry a warm hat, mittens, warm layers and a wind/waterproof shell and pants if you have them. I also recommend an extra pair of socks. If your hiking boots are giving you trouble, invest in some moleskin before we arrive in New Zealand or bum some off of the Professors. Carry and drink at least 2 L of water throughout the day. You will be doing some hard work, particularly between Soda Springs and South Crater (About 1 hour into the hike, see Fig. 13) and may not realize you are dehydrated. If you haven’t had to stop to use the bushes before lunch, you are probably not drinking enough. Wear a hat, sunscreen and lip protection. You are at elevation and the sun is more intense, even on an overcast day. Carry a flashlight. Hike with a buddy 43
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