Whakaari / White Island

Whakaari / White Island is an active andesite stratovolcano, situated 48km from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. It is New Zealand's most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatane and Tauranga. White Island has been in a nearly continuous stage of smoking at least since it was 'discovered' by James Cook in 1769.The island is roughly circular, about 2km in diameter, and rises to a height of 321m above sea level. However this is only the peak of a much larger submarine mountain, which rises up to 1600m above the nearby seafloor. Sulphur mining was attempted but was abandoned in 1914 after a lahar killed all 10 workers. The main activities on the island now are guided tours and scientific research.