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Story: Volcanoes

Macauley Island

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Macauley Island

Macauley Island is composed mainly of black basaltic lava flows with a single, thick layer of white pumice and ash: the Sandy Bay Tephra. Radiocarbon dating of fragments of leaves and twigs from near the base of the tephra shows that it was ejected about 7,100 years ago.

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How to cite this page

Richard Smith, David J. Lowe and Ian Wright, Volcanoes – The Kermadec Ridge: submarine volcanoes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8724/macauley-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Richard Smith, David J. Lowe and Ian Wright, published 2 March 2009.