Tuesday's Geology Photo: Ngauruhoe

Day two of Evelyn Mervine's photo meme, and today I have a picture of Ngauruhoe, New Zealand.  Ngauruhoe makes almost a perfect cone, broken only at the top by a small crater.  This photo was taken from the summit, looking north.  A small amount of steam can be seen rising from Ngauruhoe itself, showing this volcano is far from dead.  Further in the background is part of Tongariro, the larger volcanic complex that Ngauruhoe is just one vent of.  In the distance is lake Taupo, which is itself a large, volcanic caldera.  All in all, this shows how the Taupo Volcanic Zone is one of the most volcanic areas in the world.