A small phreatic eruption on 29 February 1980, produces a column of ash and steam above Ruapehu's Crater Lake. A darker center plume is surrounded by a white ring produced by pyroclastic surges traveling across the lake surface. This view is from the NW, with Mitre Peak at the upper left. A series of small phreatic explosions had begun on 5 December 1979 and lasted until 15 April the following year.

Photo by Peter Otway, 1980 (New Zealand Geological Survey).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Magma / Water

Keywords: eruption | lava water interaction | Surtseyan | pyroclastic surge | explosive eruption | phreatic | crater lake

Ruapehu