White Island:
The owners of New Zealand’s White Island volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 tourists and local guides, have had the conviction against them overturned by the country’s High Court recently.
- White Island (also known as Whakaari) is an active composite stratovolcano in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
- It is currently New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, sitting 48 km off the coast of Whakatāne in the North Island.
- Last major eruption on December 9, 2019.
- The cone has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years.
- The island covers an area of around 325 hectares, and this is only about 30 percent of the volcano’s mass-the rest is under the sea.
- It is two kilometres in diameter, and its peak rises 321 m above sea level.
- The island was sighted and named by Capt. James Cook in 1769.
- It has numerous hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles.
- It is privately owned. In 1953 it was declared a private scenic reserve and has been the focus of tourism activities along with geological and ecological science.
