Raoul Island
Elevation:	516 m
Coordinates:	29.27° S 177.92° W
Location:	Kermadec Islands
Type:	Stratovolcano
Last eruption:	2006

Anvil-shaped Raoul Island (Sunday Island), the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, (located at 29°15′S, 177°55′W, 900 km SSW of 'Ata Island of Tonga and 1100 km NNE of New Zealand's North Island), has been the source of vigorous volcanic activity during the past several thousand years that was dominated by dacitic explosive eruptions. An anvil is a manufacturing tool made of a hard and massive block of stone or metal used as a support for Chiseling and Hammering other objects such as in Kermadec Islands are an Island arc in the South Pacific Ocean. Ata is a small rocky island in the far south of the Tonga archipelago situated on. The Kingdom of Tonga is an Archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean comprising 169 islands 36 of them inhabited stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Dacite ( deɪsaɪt) is an igneous, volcanic rock with a high iron content

The area of the island, including fringing islets and rocks mainly in the northeast, but also a few smaller ones in the southeast, is 29. 38 km². The highest elevation is Moumoukai peak, at an elevation of 516 m.

Considering offshore islets and rocks, the northernmost island of New Zealand is Nugent Island, about 100 metres in diameter, located 3. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International 6 km northeast of Raoul Island. The coordinates of the northernmost point are 29°13′52″S, 177°52′09″W. Napier Island stretches almost as far north as Nugent Island, which reaches just a few metres further north.

Contents 1 History 2 2006 eruption 3 Geography 4 Flora and fauna 5 Satellite islands and rocks 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

History

Stone implements of the Polynesian type have been found on Raoul Island, but the island is now uninhabited.

The permanently manned Raoul Island Station, has been maintained since 1937. It includes a government meteorological and radio station and hostel for Department of Conservation (DOC) officers and volunteers. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary The Department of Conservation (In Māori, Te Papa Atawhai) commonly known by its acronym " DOC " is the state sector organisation The station stands on the northern terraces of the island, about 50 m in elevation above the cliffs of Fleetwood Bluff. Raoul Island Station represents the northernmost outpost of New Zealand.

2006 eruption

On March 17, 2006 at 8:21 a. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. m. NZDT, a 40-second long volcanic eruption occurred at the Green Lake. History On 2 November 1868, New Zealand officially adopted a standard time to be observed nationally and was perhaps the first country to do so Green Lake is the name of four lakes in New Zealand. Two are named in comparison with neighbouring lakes called Blue Lake, while a third similarly is near Black At the time, Mark Kearney, a 33-year-old DOC worker, was at the crater taking water temperature measurements. A five-hectare area around Green Lake was affected with ash, mud and boulders. Two DOC workers were forced to turn back after going to the crater to search for Kearney.

Following the eruption, DOC decided to evacuate the remaining five staff members. A Mil Mi-8 helicopter and Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft took off from Taupo at 11 a. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market using Lycoming engines. Taupo (toe-pawː in Māori) is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. m. that morning. ^[1] They arrived at the island in the late afternoon and undertook a 45 minute search for Kearney but no sign was seen. The evacuated staff members were brought back to Auckland that evening.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion made an overflight on 21 March to provide further information on how safe it is to approach Green Lake. The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. The Volcanologists aboard decided the area was still unsafe, and that the crater lake had risen by about 8 metres compared to footage taken on 17 March. Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of Volcanoes, Lava, Magma, and related geological and Geophysical phenomena Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger There was no cloud or ash plume. ^[2]

A group of police, the five evacuated workers, three other DOC staff and scientific staff left Tauranga on 18 March for the three-day boat trip to Raoul aboard the RV Braveheart to recover Kearney's body. for the electorate see Tauranga (NZ electorate Tauranga (population 114500 2007 estimate after status was lost after 1989 Local Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor ^[3] They were able to undertake a limited search, but decided that it was extremely unlikely that Kearney survived given the amount of devastation in the area around Green Lake. The Braveheart began the journey back to the mainland on 25 March, with three of the DOC workers staying on the island to continue research. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. ^[4] The three were joined by the other four evacuated workers at the start of May 2006. Two of the three will return to the mainland after the handover. ^[5]

Five hours after the eruption, the Aura satellite passed over and found an estimated 200 tonnes of sulfur dioxide had been released. Aura (EOS CH-1 is a multi-national NASA scientific research Satellite in Orbit around the Earth, studying the Earth's Ozone ^[6] This confirmed that there were magmatic gases in the eruption, and the presence of degassing magma within the volcano. Magma (Plurals magmas and magmata) is molten rock that sometimes forms beneath the surface of the Earth (or any other Terrestrial planet By the end of April, the activity in the area had decreased significantly and the "Alert Level" was lowered to 1. ^[7]

As a geographically active 'hotspot', the Kermadec Islands also experience frequent earthquakes, the most recently significant of which occurred at 22:39 NZST on May 16, 2006. Kermadec Islands are an Island arc in the South Pacific Ocean. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[8] The epicentre was approximately 290 km SSW from Raoul and measured 7. 4 on the moment magnitude scale, and as such is classified as a 'major' earthquake by the United States Geological Survey. TalkMoment magnitude scale#Real world examples please.--> The moment magnitude scale The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. It was felt as far away as Christchurch, New Zealand some 1500 km from the epicentre. Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand Also of note on January 31, 2007 at 4:15:55 NZST a Magnitude 6. 5 (Strong) earthquake shook the island. The epicenter was approximately 40 km (25 miles) S of Raoul and 10 km below the seabed. More recently on December 9th 2007 at 8. 28pm NZST a magnitude 7. 6 earthquake shook the area, centered approximately 350km north of Raoul Island at a depth of 188km. [1]

HMNZS Te Mana left for Raoul on 24 August 2006 on a resupply mission. Construction Te Mana was constructed by Tenix Defence Systems at Williamstown Victoria, Australia and launched on May 10 1997 Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Also on board were Kearney's sister, Merryn McDermott; three representatives of the Ngāti Kurī iwi; and Chris Carter, the Minister of Conservation. Ngāti Kurī is a Māori Iwi from Northland, New Zealand. Ngāti Kurī trace their ancestry to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the In New Zealand society iwi (iwi form the largest everyday Social units in Māori populations. Chris Carter may refer to Cris Carter, former American football player at the wide receiver position Chris Carter (screenwriter, American During a service held on 28 August, the Ngāti Kurī representatives performed a tapu lifting ceremony. Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital ^[9] A plaque was erected to honour Kearney. Te Mana also allowed some volcanic monitoring to be undertaken using its SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter. During a dawn flight, sample bottles were filled with crater lake water. ^[10]

A report by the New Zealand Department of Labour into the death was released on 14 October 2006. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It cleared the Conservation Department and Geological and Nuclear Sciences of any negligence related to the death of Kearney. The report stated that the eruption was unpredictable and there was no indication of imminent seismic activity. ^[11]

Geography

Two Holocene calderas are found at Raoul. The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption The older caldera cuts the center of Raoul Island is about 2. 5 x 3. 5 km wide. Denham caldera, formed during a major dacitic explosive eruption about 2200 years ago, truncated the western side of the island and is 6. 5 x 4 km wide. Its long axis is parallel to the tectonic fabric of the Havre Trough that lies west of the volcanic arc. This article discusses the geologic usage for the philosophical or architectural usage see Architectonics ' Or see Plate tectonics. Historical eruptions at Raoul during the 19th and 20th centuries have sometimes occurred simultaneously from both calderas, and have consisted of small-to-moderate phreatic eruptions, some of which formed ephemeral islands in Denham caldera. The term phreatic is used in Earth sciences to refer to matters relating to ground water below the static Water table (the word originates from the Greek A 240 m high unnamed submarine cone, one of several located along a fissure on the lower NNE flank of Raoul volcano, has also erupted during historical time, and satellitic vents at Raoul are concentrated along two parallel NNE-trending lineaments. The Denham caldera was named for the nearby Denham Bay, itself named by Capt M H Denham in HMS Herald came to complete a (chart) survey of the island July 2 1854, his son Fleetwood James Denham (16yrs) died from a tropical fever, and was buried near the beach at the head of Denham Bay, where a number of the grass-grown graves of former settlers were. The brass plaque heading this grave has been preserved.

Three small lakes, Blue Lake (1. 17 km², about 40 % overgrown), Green Lake (160,000 m²) and Tui Lake (5,000 m², drinking water quality) are located in the Northern caldera of Raoul Island. Green Lake is the name of four lakes in New Zealand. Two are named in comparison with neighbouring lakes called Blue Lake, while a third similarly is near Black A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption The plains surrounding the lakes are called Pumice Flats.

Flora and fauna

The scientific categorisation of the flora and fauna of the island began in 1854, when HMS Herald, captained by Henry Mangles Denham arrived to complete the charting of the island. Admiral Sir Henry Mangles Denham (28 August 1800 – 3 July 1887 attained the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy. He arrived on the 2nd and was occupied till the 24th July, during which time he frequently had to move the ship on account of the rough weather experienced. William Grant Milne and John MacGillivray, naturalists on board the Herald, made a small collection of plants on Raoul. William Grant Milne (?-1866 was a Scottish botanist A gardener at the Edinburgh Botanic Garden in 1852 Milne joined the HMS Herald expedition to the south-western John MacGillivray ( December 18, 1821 &ndash June 6, 1867) was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of Ornithologist This was forwarded by Captain Denham to Sir W. Hooker, and was described by Sir Joseph Hooker in the Journal of the Linnean Society for 1857.

Raoul is part of the Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests ecoregion, and is largely covered with closed-canopy forest, predominantly of the evergreen tree Metrosideros kermadecensis and the islands' endemic palm, Rhopalostylis cheesemanii, which is now classified as R. baueri. Kermadec Islands are an Island arc in the South Pacific Ocean. Metrosideros kermadecensis, commonly called the ( Kermadec pōhutukawa) is an evergreen Tree of the Myrtle family which is endemic For the genus Rhopalostylis Klotzsch ex Baill, of the family Euphorbiaceae, see its current synonym Dalechampia Rhopalostylis baueri is a species of palm native to Norfolk Island ( Australia) and to the Kermadec Islands ( New Zealand The island has no native land mammals, and was formerly home to vast colonies of seabirds who nested in the forests. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment The islands may once have had a species of megapode (based on early settler records) as well as a subspecies of Kereru;,^[12] currently native landbirds on the island include a subspecies of the red-crowned Parakeet, Australasian Harriers, Pukekos, Tui and several introduced species. The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky medium-large chicken-like Birds with small heads and large feet in the family The kererū or New Zealand Pigeon ( Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) is a Bird endemic to New Zealand. Not to be confused with the Red-crowned Parakeet (Pyrrhura roseifrons from South America The New Zealand Pukeko (Scientific name Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus, Temminck 1820 The Tui ( Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic Passerine Bird of New Zealand. ^[13] Polynesian visitors introduced Polynesian Rats in the 14th century, and norway rats, cats, and goats were introduced by European and American visitors in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat ( Rattus exulans) known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of Rat in WikipediaManual of Style (spelling, articles should conform to one overall spelling style of English typically the one most linked to the article topic (if it is geographic The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The rats and cats greatly reduced the seabird colonies, which mostly withdrew to offshore islets, and although the goats did not eliminate the tree canopy as they did on other islands, they greatly reduced the understory vegetation. Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a Forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy.

Goats were removed from the island in 1984; in 2002 rats, and probably also cats, were successfully eradicated from the island. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea A large scale weeding programme has also been under way for a number of years involving teams of DOC workers and volunteers. The island is part of the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve, New Zealand's largest marine reserve, which was created in 1990. Kermadec Islands are an Island arc in the South Pacific Ocean. New Zealand has a total of thirty two Marine reserves spread around the North, the South Island and neighbouring islands and another two on outlying island Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)

Satellite islands and rocks

The two largest satellite islands are North Island and South Island of Meyer Islands

• Islands and Rocks in the Northeast of Raoul Island
  • Fishing Rock
  • Egeria Rock
  • Meyer Islands
    • North Island
    • South Island
  • Napier
  • Nugent (northernmost island of New Zealand)
  • Herald Islets
    • Dayrell Island
    • Chanter Islands
      • Chanter (North) Island
      • South Island
      • West Island
• Islands and Rocks in the Southwest of Raoul Island
  • Milne Islands
  • Dougall Rocks

Notes

References

• Oliver, R. , 'The Vegetation of the Kermadec Islands'. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 42, 1909, p. 121. URL: RSNZ, accessed 3 January 2007.
• Polynesian stone implements
• Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Raoul Island

External links

• A visit to Raoul in 2002 by Dr. Floor Anthoni
• A history of the Bell family who lived on Raoul/Sunday Island from 1878 to 1914
• Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve (New Zealand Department of Conservation)
• Highly detailed map

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