Some things about Tongariro National Park
- The three volcanoes at the heart of the park - the mountains Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu form the southern limits of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Volcanic activity in the zone started about 2 million years ago and is on-going today.
- Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe are two of the most active composite volcanoes in the world
- The fact that the volcanoes are still active doesn't bother people from skiing down their slopes and hiking to their craters. But they do have a monitoring system that provides early warning of eruptions.
- Ruapehu had the honour of playing Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
- The mountains of this national park has deep spiritual significance for the Maori people. Legend has it that the high priest Ngatoroirangi was frozen in a snowstorm while exploring Tongariro and called to Hawaiki, the traditional Polynesian homeland of the Maori, for fire. His prayer was answered, via the channel we now call the Pacific Rim of Fire, and the mountain erupted.
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