Mount Tarawera is the volcano responsible for one of New Zealand 's largest historic eruptions . Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua in the North Island , it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissured down the middle by an explosive basaltic eruption in 1886 , which killed an estimated 120 people . These fissures run for about 17 kilometres northeast-southwest
eruption in 1886
1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera