Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The 5.5 km (3.4 mi) wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone capped by central scoria cones, reaching a height of 260 m (850 ft). Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, having erupted in two phases about 1450 CE and 1500 CE and covering an area of 2,311 ha (5,710 acres). It is separated from the mainland of Auckland's North Shore by the Rangitoto Channel. Since World War II, it has been linked by a causeway to the much older, non-volcanic Motutapu Island.

This article is about the island in the Hauraki Gulf. For the islands in the Marlborough Sounds, see Rangitoto Islands.
Rangitoto Island
Ngā Rangi-i-totongia-a Tama-te-kapua (Māori)
Oblique aerial of Rangitoto Volcano from the south
Rangitoto Island
Geography
LocationAuckland
Coordinates36.786742°S 174.860115°E / -36.786742; 174.860115
Highest point260 m (850 ft)
Administration
New Zealand
Additional information

Rangitoto is Māori for 'Bloody Sky', with the name coming from the full phrase Ngā Rangi-i-totongia-a Tama-te-kapua ("The days of the bleeding of Tama-te-kapua"). Tama-te-kapua was the captain of the Arawa waka (canoe) and was badly wounded on the island, after having lost a battle with the Tainui iwi (tribe) at Islington Bay.

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