The Lake in Taupo
The lake lies in a caldera created following a huge volcanic eruption approximately 26,500 years ago. According to geological records, the volcano has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years. It has predominantly erupted rhyolitic lava although Mount Tauhara formed from dactic lava. The largest eruption, known as the Oruanui eruption, ejected an estimated 1,170 cubic kilometres of material and caused several hundred square kilometres of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera, these may include Motels in Taupo, but not for certain. The caldera later filled with water, eventually overflowing to cause a huge outwash flood. Several later eruptions occurred over the millennia before the most recent major eruption.