What made this perfect circular forest that surrounds 8,261ft ‘Mount Doom’?

A volcano in New Zealand which once doubled as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings has a mysterious perfect circle around it – but what caused it?

Mount Taranaki sits at 8,261 feet tall on New Zealand’s North Island, but is surrounded by an almost perfectly circular lush green forest.

The dense forest is filled with mangled kamahi trees, adding to the creepy allure of the volcano.

The mangled trees within formed due to large avalanches over the years and mudflows, which destroyed previous trees.

Although the perfect circle around the base of the volcano appears to be eerie, it has a perfectly reasonable explanation.

In the 1880s, a forest reserve was established around the base of Mount Taranaki, and land around it was cleared to make way for pastures.

The clearing of land gave the circle its distinctive shape, and it’s remained nearly the same ever since.

But the mangled trees within the circle have still allowed for local legends to emerge, giving it the nickname ‘The Goblin Forest’.

The ‘goblin’ moniker is nicknamed due to the trees having to regrow in awkward positions over the fossilised remains of other trees which were destroyed in past eruptions.

Mount Taranaki also has unique legal protections – in 2017, the government granted it the same rights as a ‘person’ because it’s so sacred to local Maori tribes.

The tribes consider the volcano to be an ancestor and family member, meaning if anyone desecreates it, they could face fines.

Days ago, an American tourist was arrested for defacing one of Tokyo’s most sacred shrines after he allegedly etched letters into its traditional wooden gate.

Steve Hayes, 65, had been touring Japan with his family since Monday and was back at his hotel when police came knocking this week.

CCTV had led them there in search of the suspect they believe to be responsible for using their fingernail to etch five letters into a wooden pillar at the Meiji Jingu Shrine the day before.

They arrested him on suspicion of damaging property.

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