The Rotorua Caldera is a large rhyolitic caldera that is filled by Lake Rotorua. It was formed by an eruption 240,000 years ago that produced extensive pyroclastic deposits. Smaller eruptions have occurred in the caldera since, the most recent less than 25,000 years ago. It is one of several large volcanoes in the Taupō Volcanic Zone on the North Island of New Zealand.
NASA image of the caldera. The town of Rotorua is south of the lake that fills much of the apparently circular caldera. The caldera is a more complex shape with areas of collapse and the Tikitere Graben at its outlet. Mount Tarawera is in the lower right corner south east of the caldera and it and the lakes to the east are features of the adjacent active Ōkataina Caldera. The eruption products are thickest towards the north east.
Downtown Rotorua, Lake Rotorua, and Mokoia Island
Lake Rotorua is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2.
With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It is located within the Rotorua Caldera in the Bay of Plenty Region.
Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua from the air
Panoramic view of Lake Rotorua from Mount Ngongotahā
