It is the youngest vent in the Tongariro stratovolcano complex on the Central Plateau of the North Island and first erupted about 2,500 years ago.

Before the initial mapping of the area introduced labelling confusion, the local Māori name for the cone was Tongariro, and its summit crater was known as Ngāuruhoe.

Ngātoro-i-rangi called volcanic fire from his homeland Hawaiki, which eventually emerged at Ngauruhoe.

Over the next two years GeoNet recorded an average of 5 to 30 earthquakes a day close to Ngauruhoe, though the maximum daily number was as high as 80.

[10] Despite these potential indicators, some geologists speculate that activity may have permanently shifted away from the mountain, as the current dormancy is by far the longest in the volcano's relatively short history, and recent eruptions from the parent Tongariro volcanic complex have all been further north.

Between March and October the mountain is subject to sudden violent wind gusts and snow storms with the temperature dropping well below freezing.

[11] The Department of Conservation has asked trampers not to climb the mountain, out of respect for its tapu (sacred) nature.

[12] In 1974, as part of a promotional campaign for his sponsor Moët & Chandon, champion skier Jean-Claude Killy was filmed skiing down the previously unskied eastern slope of the mountain.

He reported that “The crater was the most terrific abyss I ever looked into or imagined … it was not possible to see above 10 yards into it from the quantity of steam which it was continually discharging”.