Māngere Mountain, Volcanic summit in Auckland, New Zealand.

Māngere Mountain is a 106-metre volcanic cone in Māngere, Auckland, with two large craters; its wide crater holds a lava dome near the centre, a feature shared by no other volcano in Auckland. The mountain is one of the largest and best preserved cones in the Auckland volcanic field, and many earthworks from a major pā remain visible.

The volcano erupted roughly 70,000 years ago, sending lava flows that reached the Manukau Harbour and shaped the landscape around it. Over time, the Waiohua people recognized its strategic location and established their settlement on the high ground.

The name Te Pane-o-Mataaho refers to Mataaho, an early Tāmaki Māori volcano god. By the 15th century the southern slopes were gardens called Taotaoroa, growing kūmara. The alternate name Te Ara Pueru, "the dogskin cloak path", recalls Te Taoū warriors muffling pipi-shell warnings with dogskin cloaks before raiding the pā at dawn.

Several walking tracks of varying difficulty loop around and across the summit, so you can choose your route based on your fitness level. Wear good shoes since the ground is volcanic rock that can be slippery in wet conditions.

What sets this volcano apart is its unusual geological form: a wide crater with a centered lava dome rising inside it. This rare combination of features resulted from the specific way the eruption unfolded thousands of years ago.