This large fissure produced during a major explosive eruption at Tarawera in 1886 is one of the youngest eruption features of the Okataina Volcanic Centre. Okataina is surrounded by extensive ignimbrite and pyroclastic deposits produced during caldera-forming eruptions. The subparallel NE-SW-trending Haroharo and Tarawera complexes consist of rhyolitic lava domes and associated lava flows that formed between about 15,000 and 800 years ago and impounded lakes against the margins of the Okataina ring structure.

Photo by Richard Waitt, 1986 (U.S. Geological Survey).

This image is made available as a Public Domain Work, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Galleries: Craters | Fissure Vents

Keywords: fissure | vent | crater | stratigraphy | scoria | stratovolcano

Okataina