View of the Central Plateau from the Desert Road showing the three active peaks: Snow-capped Ruapehu (left), conical Ngauruhoe (centre) and broad-domed Tongariro (right)
To the west of the three southern volcanoes, the land is rough forested hill country, and the north, close to Lake Taupo, is fertile and undulating. To the east, however, the landscape is quite different. The barren, ash-laden soils of the region and harsh alpine climate leave the high land to the east largely bare and unprofitable, capable of growing only scrubby plants. This area is known as the Rangipo Desert. To the east of this lies further rough hill country, notably the Kaimanawa Ranges.
The entire area bounded by the towns of Taihape in the south, Ohakune in the west, and Taupo in the north, with Turangi just south of Taupo and by the Kaweka Ranges in the east is above 300 metres, with a considerable proportion of it more than 800 metres above sea level.
The majority of the population of the area lives close to the shores of Lake Taupo, with some smaller settlements to the east of the volcanoes. These make their living largely through tourism, including skiing in the winter season, or by forestry in the plateau's northeast, which includes the Kaingaroa Forest.
The Rangipo region is largely uninhabited. It is used by the New Zealand Army, based at Waiouru in the south, and by the Rangipo prison farm in the north.
References
Geology - South Auckland Land District, from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26-Sep-2006. Accessed 2007-07-06.
Landscape - North Island, from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26-Sep-2006. Accessed 2007-07-06.
