Maungataketake, Extinct volcano near Auckland Airport, New Zealand
Maungataketake is an extinct volcano near Auckland Airport featuring a scoria cone roughly 76 meters high and a crater about 100 meters across. The site has been altered by historical quarrying, but fossil forest remains are visible at low tide at the end of Renton Road.
The volcano erupted roughly 90,000 years ago, leaving layers of tuff and ash that preserved parts of the ancient Ihumatao forest. These deposits also sealed an older kauri forest that lay in a peat swamp beneath the surface.
The mountain served as a pa, a fortified Maori settlement overlooking the region. The name Maungataketake means broad mountain in the Maori language and remains part of the local identity today.
The site is best visited at low tide when fossil forest layers become visible at the end of Renton Road. A picnic table on site offers a quiet observation point to explore the remains and surrounding landscape.
The volcanic eruption preserved two distinct forest types stacked together: trees in ash layers at the surface and an older kauri forest from peat deposits deep below. This layering offers a rare view of two different forest ages in one location.
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