North Island Volcanic Plateau
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The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau) is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the south of the dormant supervolcano, Lake Taupo, and extends south past the three active peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Ruapehu.
To the west of these three 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 borders 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.
