The Landsat 8 satellite captured an exquisite image of the snow-capped Mount Taranaki in New Zealand surrounded by an eerie dark green forest of goblin-like trees.
Landsat 8 is an American Earth observation satellite and a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The NASA Earth Observatory recently shared the 2023 photo of Mount Taranaki, also called Mount Egmont.
Located on New Zealand’s North Island, it has a ring of forest around it made up of kāmahi trees known as the “Goblin Forest”. The reason for this fantastical name, Live Science reports, is that the tree there are extremely gnarled because they have grown over and around the fossilized remains of past trees that were evicerated during eroptions.
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 took the striking image in the summmer of 2023. The dark green ring is roughly 12 miles in diameter at its widest point.
Mount Taranaki is considered an active stratovolcano, but it is currently dormant. Its last known eruption occurred approximately 1854, and geological records show it has erupted several times in the past 130,000 years.
It is classified as active because it has the potential to erupt again. The volcano is closely monitored for seismic and geothermal activity by GNS Science, the organization responsible for volcano monitoring in New Zealand. Experts estimate that Taranaki has an eruption cycle of about 500 years on average, meaning it is likely to erupt again in the future.
Beyond its physical and ecological presence, Mount Taranaki holds profound significance for the Indigenous Māori people, who regard it as an ancestor. In 2017, the mountain was granted the same legal rights as a person, recognizing its sacred status. This groundbreaking legal designation ensures that harm to the mountain is equated with harm to the Māori tribes connected to it.
Mount Taranaki has also served as a cinematic stand-in for Japan’s Mount Fuji in the film The Last Samurai and continues to inspire artwork and symbolism across New Zealand.
Image credits: NASA Earth Observatory
