Waimangu Valley
The Waimangu Valley or Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley is a rift valley about 25 km south of Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand .
It was created on June 10, 1886 by an eruption of Mount Tarawera . The eruption created a 17-kilometer-long valley that reached from the visitor center through what is now Lake Rotomahana . 22 craters along the trench erupted simultaneously. The eruption buried the sintered terraces of the Pink and White Terraces in the area of the Laka Rotomahana at the end of the valley, which at the time was New Zealand's most important attraction.
The valley is the youngest thermal area in the world, the only known example of a geothermal ecosystem created directly as a result of a volcanic eruption, and the only example in New Zealand of the natural regeneration of a native ecosystem after it has been completely destroyed.
Sights in the valley
Waimangu Geyser
The extinct Waimangu Geyser was the highest geyser in the world between 1900 and 1904 with a fountain that was up to 460 meters high.
Southern Crater and Emerald Lake
The approximately 50 m deep crater of the eruption of 1886 is about 2 m deep filled with water. It is separated from the valley by a narrow ridge. Apart from two small mud pots in the northeast of the crater, no geothermal activity has been observed since the Tarawera eruption.
The crater lake is called "Emerald Lake" because of its occasional emerald-colored water. The color of the lake changes, however, depending on the vegetation with algae mats and ferns between green, brown and red. Red colors are produced by the swimming fern Azolla filiculoides . The cold water lake is mainly fed by rainwater and is at groundwater level.
Inferno Crater
.jpg)
The crater was created in 1889 by an eruption on the side of Mount Hazard . The lake in Inferno Crater has a strong turquoise blue color. Its water level fluctuates in a 38-day rhythm. For 3–4 weeks the water rises to the edge of the crater, for 2–3 days the water flows over the drain and then sinks again to 8 meters below the edge in 15 days. At the maximum water level, the lake is 30 m deep. It has 80 ° C hot and, because of its sulfuric acid content, extremely acidic water with a pH value of up to 2.1. With its “trumpet-shaped” depth profile , the lake resembles a geyser , which is not visible due to the high water level. The lake is also known as the "largest geyser-like structure in the world". It interacts with the Frying pan lake : when the inferno crater overflows, the outflow of the frying pan lake is reduced, while the water level in the inferno crater increases, but the outflow of the frying pan lake increases.
Echo Crater and Frying Pan Lake
The Echo Crater was formed during the Tarawera eruption. On April 1, 1917, a geothermal eruption occurred in the western part of the crater. This destroyed the tourist accommodation that had remained from the eruption of the Waimangu geyser and was used as a residential building and killed two people. The water-filled crater of this eruption forms today's Frying Pan Lake.
This is the largest thermal lake in the world. It contains 200,000 m³ of water. The water of the crater lake, on average six meters deep, is acidic with a pH of 3.5. Leaking carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gas create the impression that the water is boiling. Boiling water comes out at the bottom of the lake, but is cooled by the lake to an average temperature of 55 ° C.
Warbrick terraces
These sinter terraces are a little off the main path in the sixth of the craters from the Southern Crater. This is sometimes called the Rainbow Crater or Rift Valley , but has no official name. This crater was filled with tephra after the Tarawera eruption . This plain then eroded, leaving terraces at the edge of the valley. Hot water escapes through a gap on one of the terraces and deposits the sinter dam, behind which a small turquoise thermal lake accumulates. On the long side of the valley there are other, smaller white sintered terraces. A geyser up to 1 m high was active here for about 20 years from 1931.
The terraces are named after the Warbrick family, who are closely associated with the valley's history of tourism. Alfred Patchet Warbrick (1860–1940) was a Maori from the Ngati Rangitihi tribe and led tourists through the area for 45 years. He is said to be born on Lake Rotomahana and grew up in Auckland. He worked as a boat builder on Rotorua Lake and after the eruption of Tarawera in 1886 among the rescue teams. Soon after the eruption, he began guiding tourists around the area. In 1896, Warbrick was appointed by the government to be the chief tourist guide for the valley, lake and Tarawera area. His brother Joseph Astbury Warbrick (1862-1903) was killed in an accident at the Waimanhgu Geyser, whereupon one of the sintered terraces was later named. He was a member of the first Maori rugby team to travel to England and the 17th national rugby player for New Zealand.
Lake Rotomahana
The valley's rift valley continues through what is now Lake Rotomahana . At the southern end of the lake is the end point of the shuttle bus and the starting point for the boat tours on the lake.
Tourist use
The area was a major tourist destination in the early 1880s because of the Pink and White Terraces. After the eruption of Mount Tarawera and the destruction of the terraces, tourism came to a standstill. It received a new boost between 1900 and 1904 with the Waimangu geyser, the highest geyser in the world. In addition to 1902/1903, a tourist accommodation was built at the end of the valley and shelters at the geyser. After it ceased its activity in 1904, the upswing also came to an end. The tourist accommodation was largely destroyed and demolished in the geothermal eruption of the Echo Crater in 1917.
The valley is operated as a tourist attraction by a private company under license from the Department of Conservation . In addition to a visitor center and a toilet facility, a shuttle bus with 3 stops is operated in the valley. Boat tours are available on Lake Rotomahana.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Information boards in the Waimangu Valley and information material “Guides for Explorers” from the visitor center
Coordinates: 38 ° 16 ′ 59 ″ S , 176 ° 23 ′ 45.9 ″ E