It's a little bit difficult to see close up, though.

近看其實不太好看得出來。

For the best view, you need to go a few kilometres that way.

要目睹最清楚的風景，你得拉遠到數公里以外去。

In the center of that circle is Mount Taranaki, a stratovolcano on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

在那個圓圈中心點的是塔拉納基山，這是一座位於紐西蘭北島西岸的複式火山。

And from six kilometers up, the landscape looks bizarre: there are very few large-scale circular features like that in the world.

從六公里外的上空往下看，整個景緻看起來相當奇妙：世界上很少有像是這樣的大規模環狀地貌。

Taranaki is also one of the most symmetrical volcanoes on the planet, which adds to the effect.

塔拉納基山也是地球上最對稱的火山之一，因此讓視覺上的效果更加明顯。

This mountain is one of the natural features of New Zealand that's been granted the legal rights of a person, in sort of the same way that corporations are considered people in a lot of countries.

這座山是紐西蘭政府賦了法律上人權的自然景觀之一，有點像是許多國家會將公司法人視為一個「人」那樣。

Although the nuances of that, and the history of war and land confiscation that got us to this point, is something that this British tourist is entirely unqualified to talk about.

儘管現在有著這樣的微妙身分，其背後的戰爭與土地侵佔歷史仍是使該地現在變成如此景致的原因，而這不是身為英國遊客的我有資格去說的。

So I'll put some links at the end of the video and in the description.

因此我會在影片的結尾以及資訊欄中放上一些連結來說明。

Before humans arrived in New Zealand, about 700 years ago, most of the country looked something like this: dense forest.

在人類登陸紐西蘭，也就是七百年之前，整個國家大多被像是這樣的植物給覆蓋住：茂密的森林。

Not that exact species of tree everywhere, but certainly that sort of haven for wildlife and birds.

並不是說到處都是這種特定的樹種，但確實是充滿著野生動物與鳥類的棲息地。

Māori settlers cleared some of it after they landed here, but the European settlers, a few centuries later, they cleared forest on an industrial scale.

毛利人在登陸之後稍微清除掉了一些，但在數世紀後歐洲拓荒者來到這裡，他們以工業級規模清除了大量森林。

Trees that were valuable for construction were cut down, and anything else was burned, making way for this sort of pastureland.

能夠作為建築材料的樹木被砍伐下來，其餘的則直接就地焚燒，為建造出眼前這樣的牧場鋪路。

About half of New Zealand was eventually converted to grasslands for grazing for imported species of animals, on imported species of grass.

紐西蘭大約有一半的土地最後轉變為了種植進口品種的綠草，來餵養進口品種動物的草原。

The national government reserved an area around that peak, to help defend against flash floods and erosion.

該國政府將山脈周圍劃為保留區，用以抵禦暴洪與土壤侵蝕。

In 1900, that area became a National Park, defined as a circle six miles in radius from the summit of the mountain, plus a few other interesting parts on the edge.

在 1900 年時，該區域成為了國家公園，界線以該山脈的頂峰周圍六英哩為準，另外加上邊緣幾處有趣的部分。

Farmers, of course, cleared everything up to that circle, as far as they could legally go,

而農夫們理所當然地遵照著法律允許的極限，把直到該環形界線的所有土地都清空了，

and the result was this mathematical line made real, this wonderful view out the window as you fly from Auckland to Wellington.

結果就是這個依循著數學原則的完美圓形，讓你在從奧克蘭飛往威靈頓的航班上看向窗外時能夠享受這個美好景致。

Although at some point, that flight's going to become a bit more difficult.

然而在未來的某個時間點後，可能會更難搭乘到這樣的航班。

As is living around here.

而且也會變得更難住在這裡。

Because Taranaki is not an extinct volcano.

這是因為塔拉納基山並不是死火山。

Under that rock, there's still magma ready to go: Taranaki is active, just quiet right now, and it's overdue.

在岩石底下，岩漿仍在持續流動者：塔拉納基是個活火山，它只是處於靜止階段，隨時都可能會爆發。

On average, there's at least a minor eruption every 90 years, and it's been more than 150 since the last one.

平均而言，該火山每 90 年會發生一次輕微的爆發，而現在距離上一次的爆發已經有 150 年之久了。

One study said there's an 80% chance of some sort of eruption in the next fifty years.

一份研究指出，未來五十年間有 80% 的機會發生某種程度的火山爆發。

There will be warning signs and plenty of time to evacuate folks,

爆發前會有一些警告，讓我們有充足的時間能夠疏散民眾，

but, if it's the big one, the government's civil defense evacuation plans describe the entire National Park as an area where people "are unlikely to survive".

但是要是真的發生了大規模爆發，政府的民眾疏散計畫將整個國家公園所在的區域形容為「不太可能有人生存下來」的地方。

And it could shut down air traffic over most of the North Island: engine-shredding ash will probably blow east right into that flightpath.

而它更可能造成幾乎整個北島的空中交通完全停滯：能夠摧毀發動機的火山灰可能會向東吹去，覆蓋住飛機的航道。

And the cone of the mountain could collapse entirely, as it's done several times in the eons when humans weren't around to see it.

而該山脈的椎體可能整個崩塌，而它其實在人類未能親眼見證的年代裡已經崩塌過數次了。

So if you are flying between Auckland and Wellington any time soon, and the skies are clear: do enjoy the view.

所以如果你最近會搭乘到奧克蘭與威靈頓之間的航班，又剛好遇上天氣晴朗的日子，那就好好享受眼前的景致吧。

Because at some point, it's going to change.

因為在未來的某個時間點後，一切將會完全改變。