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Story: Historic volcanic activity

Avalanche

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Avalanche

Thirty seconds after the Mt Ngāuruhoe explosion the ash cloud rises and expands. Some of the heavier material begins to drop, causing fluid pyroclastic flows (glowing avalanches of fragmented rock) that travelled two kilometres down the Mangatepopo valley.

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Private collection

by Graham Hancox

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney, Carol Stewart and Graham Leonard, Historic volcanic activity – Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6855/avalanche (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney, Carol Stewart and Graham Leonard, published 2 March 2009.