Located in a geologically active region,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
has numerous
geothermal features, including
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
es,
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s,
geyser
A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only i ...
s and
volcanic lake
A volcanogenic lake is a lake formed as a result of volcanic activity. They are generally a body of water inside an inactive volcanic crater (crater lakes) but can also be large volumes of molten lava within an active volcanic crater (lava lakes) ...
s. Many of these features cluster together geographically, notably throughout the central
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
's
Taupo Volcanic Zone. These areas attract scientific interest and tourism;
power generators,
industry and civil engineering also utilise them.
Tourist areas
*
Whakarewarewa
Whakarewarewa (reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning ''The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao'', often abbreviated to Whaka by locals) is a Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupo Volcanic ...
,
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encomp ...
*
Tikitere (Hell's Gate), north of Rotorua
*
Waimangu, south of Rotorua
*
Waiotapu
Waiotapu (Māori for " sacred waters") is an active geothermal area at the southern end of the Okataina Volcanic Centre, just north of the Reporoa caldera, in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is 27 kilometres south of Rotorua. Due to ...
, south of Rotorua
*
Craters of the Moon Craters of the Moon may refer to:
* Lunar craters, craters on the Earth's Moon
* Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, a volcanic preserve in Idaho
* Craters of the Moon (geothermal site)
Craters of the Moon Thermal Area (or ''Kara ...
,
Wairakei, north of
Taupo
*
Orakei Korako
Orakei Korako is a highly active geothermal area most notable for its series of fault-stepped sinter terraces, located in a valley north of Taupō on the banks of the Waikato River in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. It is also known as ...
, north of
Taupo
See also
*
Geothermal power in New Zealand
Geothermal power in New Zealand is a small but significant part of the energy generation capacity of the country, providing approximately 17% of the country's electricity
*
Hot springs in New Zealand
New Zealand has a large number of hot springs, known as ''waiariki'' in Māori. Many of them are used for therapeutic purposes.
The highest concentration of such springs is in the Central Plateau region of the North Island, in the Taupo Volc ...
References
Geology of New Zealand
Tourist attractions in New Zealand
{{NewZealand-geo-stub