Ruapehu

Description

Ruapehu is the highest mountain on North Island, one of three volcanoes in the Tongariro National Park. The others are Ngauruhoe (7,516 ft.) and Tongariro (6,457 ft.). Although Ruapehu is the highest of the three, its true dominance comes in the form of mass: It is a great bulky mountain, that rises in a series of ridges to a broad plateau that is its summit. The summit is snow-covered, but holds a warm lake. Ruapehu is active, having erupted in 1988, September 1995, and July 1996. Of its two neighboring mountains, Ngauruhoe is the active one, having erupted as recently as 1977. Ruapehu is an easy climb, and is linked to its neighboring volcanoes by a network of trails, making a traverse of the three major summits in the area a popular trek.