Name: Volcanic New Zealand
Uploaded: 2018
Description: New Zealand owes its existence to a fiery past. Volcanoes lifted islands out of the sea and generated rivers from their slopes.

New Zealand owes its existence to a fiery past. Volcanoes lifted islands out of the sea and generated rivers from their slopes.

We travel back in time; back to before the Zealandia micro-continent drifted away from Australia and the rest of Gondwana to learn what New Zealand looked like during a time when some of the largest volcanic eruptions on the planet were occurring.

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A Violent Past

Volcanic activity is ancient history in the South Island . . . but in the North Island, we move into the present. How do humans live alongside the titanic power of volcanic events today?

A Threatening Present

It’s the future that concentrates the minds of scientists. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and is constructed on the remnants of fifty-three volcanoes. The city is located directly above an active volcanic field. A volcanic event could occur at any time with as little as ten hours of warning.