Claire's other postcard

Shores of Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo, located in the center of the North Island, was created from the massive Taupo eruption, which released great quantities of ash and tephra into the air spreading over much of the northern North Island. Its shores consist of coarse volcanic sands which contain various minerals and volcanic rocks such as quartz, obsidian, and pumice. Pumice, a volcanic rock which traps gas as it cools, is very porous and light, enabling it to float on water. The shores of Lake Taupo have lines of pumice above the water where wave action has thrown them. Pumice deposits in banks up the shore from the lake show that the lake level has not always been at its current level, but has receeded from previous levels to its current state.