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Whakaari or White Island, in Māori Te Puia Whakaari, is an active andesite stratovolcano situated 48 km from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty.
The island covers an area of approximately 325 ha, which is just the peak of a much larger submarine volcano.
The island is New Zealand's most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatane and Tauranga. The island has been in a nearly continuous stage of releasing volcanic gas at least since it was sighted by James Cook in 1769.
Whakaari erupted continually from December 1975 until September 2000, and also erupted in 2012, 2016, and 2019.
Sulphur was mined on the island until the 1930s. Ten miners were killed in 1914 when part of the crater wall collapsed. The main activities on the island now include guided tours and scientific research. Access to the island is allowed only as a member of a tour run by a registered tour operator.
A large eruption occurred at 14:11 on 9 December 2019, which resulted in 22 fatalities, including two people who were missing and ruled to be dead by a coroner. Twenty-five survivors were seriously injured, many critically and suffering severe burns. Three survivors suffered minor injuries. Forty-seven people were reportedly on the island when it erupted. A second eruption closely followed the first.
More information: New Zealand Geographic
Whakaari/White Island lies in the northern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone. The Taupō Volcanic Zone forms the southernmost segment of the 2,800 km-long Tonga–Kermadec–Taupō volcanic arc system and the Lau Basin–Havre Trough–Ngatoro Basin back-arc basin system.
The Māori name Whakaari is recorded in multiple 19th century texts by Europeans, with one mention dating back to 1849, though spelling varied including Wakaari, Whakari, and Whaka ari. The name Whakaari means to make visible or exposed to view. The full Māori name for the island is te puia whakaari, meaning The Dramatic Volcano.
Whakaari was named White Island by Captain Cook on 1 October 1769. According to LINZ this name came from the dense clouds of white steam emanating from it. Alternatively, he may have been alluding to the guano deposits that once covered the island Although Cook sailed close to the island, he did not record that it was a volcano.
The island's official name was changed from White Island (Whakaari) to Whakaari/White Island in 1997. This makes it one of many places in New Zealand with dual Māori and English names.
Some Māori myths describe Whakaari as part of Ngātoro-i-rangi's ascent of Tongariro. In one account, he called on his ancestors for warmth; the fire was kindled on Whakaari and brought to him. Other versions of this story are similar but it is his sisters, or the gods, who send him warmth from Whakaari.
Other stories give origin stories for the island. One states that it rose from the deep after the god Maui, having first touched fire was so greatly tortured by the pain that he instantly dived under water to calm his pain; and in the place where he shook the fire from him arose Whakaari. Another tells that Moutohora Island and Whakaari/White Island were peaks in the Huiarau Range near Waikaremoana but were jealous of each other, and rushed towards the ocean, leaving behind them the tracks that now form the Whakatane valley and either the Tauranga or Te Waimana valley. Whakaari was faster, so got to the better position where it stands today.
More information: The Conversation
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