Tank Farm facts for kids
Tank Farm is a cool natural spot in North Shore City, New Zealand. It's also known as Tuff Crater. This place is actually a special type of volcano called a maar, which is a wide, flat crater formed by an explosion. You can find it close to the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The Story of Te Kopua o Matakamokamo
Tank Farm has a special Māori name: Te Kopua o Matakamokamo. This means 'the basin of Matakamokamo'.
This name comes from an old Māori story. In the story, a person named Matakamokamo had an argument. During this argument, he accidentally upset Mahuika, the goddess of fire.
As a result, the goddess Mahuika asked the powerful god Mataoho for help. Mataoho then sent many volcanic eruptions. Two of these eruptions were very big. They happened where Tank Farm and Onepoto Domain are today.
Because of this, Tank Farm was named Te Kopua o Matakamokamo. The other crater, Onepoto, was named Te Kopua o Matakerepo, after Matakamokamo's wife.
How Tank Farm Was Formed
Tank Farm is part of the Auckland volcanic field. It was made by a series of big explosions. Scientists don't know exactly how old it is. However, it might be one of the older volcanoes in Auckland, like its neighbours Onepoto and Lake Pupuke.
Originally, Tank Farm was a freshwater lake. But after the last ice age, sea levels rose. This caused the lake to become a tidal lagoon, meaning the sea water now flows in and out with the tides.
Most of Tank Farm is still in its natural state. However, some parts of its outer ring, called the tuff ring, were used for quarrying (taking out rocks).
Why It's Called Tank Farm
The name "Tank Farm" comes from its history during World War II. At that time, large tanks were built here to store petrochemicals, which are products made from oil.
Today, the local council often calls this volcano "Tuff Crater." This name comes from an old map made by a scientist named Hochstetter in 1864. On his map of Auckland's volcanoes, many of them, including this one, were simply labeled "tuff crater."
