Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The 5.5 km (3.4 mi) wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone capped by central scoria cones, reaching a height of 260 m (850 ft). Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, having erupted in two phases about 1450 CE and 1500 CE and covering an area of 2,311 ha. It is separated from the mainland of Auckland's North Shore by the Rangitoto Channel. Since World War II, it has been linked by a causeway to the much older, non-volcanic Motutapu Island.
Oblique aerial of Rangitoto Volcano from the south
The thin land bridge link between Rangitoto Island (left) and Motutapu Island is visible here from the air
The opening to a lava tube at Rangitoto, partially obstructed by tree growth
View from inside one of the caves
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2, and lies between, in anticlockwise order, the Auckland Region, the Hauraki Plains, the Coromandel Peninsula, and Great Barrier Island. Most of the gulf is part of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
True-colour image showing the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, with Auckland (left) and the Coromandel Peninsula (right), by NASA's Terra satellite, 2002.
Sunset view of The Noises viewed from Waiheke Island
Farmland and native bush on Ponui Island
An orca swims in Waitematā Harbour, with Auckland CBD in the background.
