Rangipo Desert

Te Onetapu (Māori: [tɛˌɔnɛˈtaˌpʉ]), commonly known as the Rangipo Desert (Māori: [ˌɾaŋiˌpɔː]), is a barren desert-like environment located in New Zealand, located in the Ruapehu District on the North Island Volcanic Plateau; to the east of the three active peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Ruapehu, and to the west of the Kaimanawa Range.

Etymology

Two main names have been given to the desert, both of which are derived from te reo Māori and describe the area's history. The first of these, Te Onetapu, is derived from the words one - beach or sand, and tapu - sacred. This name refers to the death of Taiteariki, an ancestor of the Ngāti Rangi iwi who was killed at a location in the desert in early Māori history after conflict arose between him and two children of Houmea, Tura and Rotuia.

Following Pākehā settlement and expansion into the region, the desert became known as Rangipo, from the Māori words rangi, meaning sky, and pō, meaning night or darkness. This name references the story of Ngātoro-i-rangi, a tohunga and ancestor of Ngāti Tūwharetoa who explored the region in search of land for his people. According to legend, Ngātoro-i-rangi saw explorers from the Tākitimu waka while camping on Mount Tongariro, and pleaded to Ruaumoko for help defending the area from the encroachment. Ruaumoko responded by causing Mount Ngauruhoe to erupt, darkening the sky and enveloping the new party in smoke and ash.

In 2019, the desert's original name of Te Onetapu was officially restored as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Rangi.

Geography and climate

The Rangipo Desert receives 1,500–2,500 mm (59–98 in) of rainfall per year, but resembles a desert because of its location on the volcanic plateau adjacent to and east of Ruapehu, poor soil quality and drying winds, and also due to the mass sterilisation of seeds during a series of violent eruptions, particularly pyroclastic flows forming ignimbrite rocks about 20,000 years ago.