Tongariro Alpine Crossing is located in Tongariro National Park – New Zealand’s oldest national park and a dual cultural and natural World Heritage site. It has been heralded as one of the best one-day treks in New Zealand – or even the world.
Among the features of the crossing are three volcanoes: Ngauruhoe, Tongariro, and Ruapehu. The Ngauruhoe volcano is more than just an imposing silhouette; it was digitally-altered for its appearance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the National Park itself serving as a backdrop. Mt. Ngauruhoe is a stratovolcano, named for of their layered (or stratified) appearance. While stratovolcanoes can be picturesque, they are also deadly; most stratovolcanoes have a highly explosive history of Plinian eruptions, which are “associated with deadly pyroclastic flows composed of hot volcanic fragments and toxic gases that advance down slopes at hurricane-force speeds.” Two infamous stratovolcanoes are Krakatoa and Vesiuvius – both associated with catastrophic eruptions.
Sounds like Sauron might have found a home on Earth.
For more information, visit the entry on EPOD’s website or the Tongariro Alpine Crossing website, or watch their their Lord of the Rings featurette.
The Abstract 