K‐Ar ages from the Western Dome Belt and associated rhyolitic lavas in the Maroa‐Taupo area, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

Abstract The Western Dome Belt is a 32 km long belt of rhyolitic lava domes west of Maroa caldera. New K‐Ar age data suggest that the belt was a significant locus of extrusive volcanism between the voluminous pyroclastic Whakamaru eruption(s), and the onset of caldera formation at Maroa, during which time it marked the western boundary of rhyolitic volcanism in Taupo Volcanic Zone. A smaller, younger cluster of lava flows and domes to the south at Ben Lomond station forms part of a transitional region between the youthful Maroa and Taupo calderas.