New Zealand volcano used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings may erupt
Pressure, temperature building underground in a volcano used in the 'Lord of the Rings' movies
A volcano that doubled as Mount Doom in series of movies is in danger of erupting as pressure builds in an underground vent, officials in New Zealand said yesterday.
The Department of Conservation warned hikers to avoid walking near the summit of Mount Ruapehu.
It said temperature readings by scientists indicated an increased risk of eruption at the country's largest active volcano.
"The current situation can't continue. Ruapehu is so active that the temperatures have been going up and down a lot," the department's volcanic risk manager Harry Keys told Radio New Zealand. "They generally haven't gone up as we've expected for some weeks now, and sooner or later that situation will be rectified, either in a small, relatively passive way or with a significant eruption."
Official monitoring body GNS Science said the temperature a few hundred metres below a lake in the crater of the North Island mountain was estimated at 800 degrees Celsius, while at the lake itself it was just 20 degrees.
