Mount Tongariro is a volcanic complex in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres to the southwest of Lake Taupo, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of the central North Island.

The volcanic massif, often simply referred to as Tongariro, has a height of 1,978 metres. It first erupted about 260,000 years ago. The volcano consists of at least 12 cones; Ngauruhoe, while often regarded as a separate mountain, is geologically a vent of Tongariro. It is also the most active, having erupted more than 70 times since 1839, although the last eruption took place in 1974-1975. Activity has also been recorded at other vents. Red Crater last erupted ash in 1926 and contains active fumaroles. There are many explosion craters on the massif; water has filled some of these to form the Blue Lake and the Emerald Lakes.

Mount Tongariro is in the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park and one of the earliest in the world. It given to the nation in 1887 by Te Heuheu Tukino IV (Horonuku), paramount chief of the Māori Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi in order to preserve its natural beauty. The park also includes the peaks of Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, both of which lie to the southwest of Tongariro. The national park is a dual World Heritage Area for its outstanding natural and intangible cultural values.

The popular hiking route called Tongariro Alpine Crossing passes between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.

Mount Tongariro and its surroundings are also one of the several locations which Peter Jackson chose to shoot the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

credited to wikipedia