Mt. Tarawera eruption of 1886In this essay I will tell you about the Tarawera eruption of 1886. More specifically I will tell you about the effects it had on the natural environment and the effects it had on local communities caused by the eruption of 10 June 1886, just after midnight. Mount Tarawera lights up like fireworks. BOOM! Cam of molten rock flying out of the crater. People as far away as Blenheim could hear this thunder-like noise but had no idea what it might be. Although the people of Rotorua knew exactly what was happening, Mount Tarawera was erupting! The Mount Tarawera eruption was the largest eruption to occur in New Zealand in 800 years. After the eruption the territory had changed radically. In my mind I think the biggest loss would have to be the red and white stands. The loss of the pink and white terraces was a blow to New Zealand's tourism industry. People from all over the world came to bathe covering 3 hectares (hectares) and going down 30 meters and they were huge. The pink and white terraces were about to be named one of the seven wonders of the world. No tourist would want to come and see the ash on the terraces. Millions of dollars lost. After the eruption. The Tarawera region was covered in ash. In the fertile ash. The eruption stratified the soils with sterile volcanic ash. They could no longer grow food or herd animals. The Maori called the central North Island “Kaingaora” meaning lean and hungry land. Native bush and scrub near the Tarawera eruption was burned and much vegetation never recovered. Around Tarawera the lakes and rivers were heavily polluted by ash. Lakes turned to mud, lakes and rivers were cut off and covered by debris. It must have been extremely difficult to find fresh water, as all the lakes would have been polluted. South of Lake Tarawera there were fans of debris from the eruption. Lake Rotomahna now fills Rotomahana Crater. After the eruption Rotorua had many hot springs, boiling rivers and mud pools which are still active today. Before the eruption, many people claimed to have seen a ghostly canoe on Lake Rotomahana. The Maori say he was warning them that death was coming.