1460 BC Eruption of Taupo

Name: 1460 BC Eruption of Taupo
Location: Taupo, New Zealand

1460 BC · VEI 6

Taupo in New Zealand erupted in 1460 BC with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6.

Where it erupted

Taupo, New Zealand, with its other significant eruptions.

Open the live map with volcanic ash advisories and webcams

The eruption

Date: 1460 BC
Volcano: Taupo, caldera
Country: New Zealand
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 6, paroxysmal (eruption column over 25 km)
Location: 38.781° S, 175.893° E

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Radiocarbon dated (corrected) 1460 BC ± 40 years.

Other significant eruptions of Taupo

Every eruption in 1460 BC The 1400s BC Taupo Earthquakes near Taupo

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 5231.