Karaka Volcano

Who knew that one of Auckland's newest development areas is actually one of the regions oldest volcanoes? Nobody much! Until 2018, when investigations by Geological and Nuclear Sciences discovered the Karaka Crater. Which sound good, now that it is officially designated a volcano. They were actually tipped off by an application for a landfill in the area, and a comment by one long-time local, that the paddocks in question might be a volcano.

NZPlaces is really keen for some photos of this new old feature. However, it is not the easiest place to visit as the crater itself is part of a farm, roughly spanning the block between Urquhart Road and Laing Road, and only indentifiable in it's circular form from above.

The geologists describe it as a 'castle and moat' type crater, circular, with the central crater surrounded by a formation known as a 'tuff ring'. The good soil in the area can be attributed to sediment which filled the a lake which populated the 'moat' following the eruption which would have been betweeen 1.5 and .5 million years ago.

Image Credit: Google Maps