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Waiotapu:    

The Champagne Pool  

 

 

Waiotapu is 25km south of Rotorua. 

Hydrothermal craters here are lined up along a fault. They exploded about 900 years ago.

The Champagne pool is such a crater. 2,000 square meters of bubbling, steaming water at 70 to 75 degrees C.

The hydrothermal formation at the edge is brilliant orange. It is a powder when dry and contains the sulphides of arsenic, antimony and mercury. Small amounts of gold and silver are included. Actually, the gold is 80ppm which is a rich gold ore, but there is not enough to mine (fortunately, or this beautiful tourist attraction might have gone long ago).
Water from the Champagne pool gently flows over the colourful  Artist's Palette (or Primrose Terrace), then trickles down a stream, to cascade over the Bridal Veil Falls and eventually flow into Lake Ngakoro. This lake is cooler, about 25°C, and is also colourful, but green with algae.

Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, bubbles even more when sand is thrown in.

This picture (much bigger, square version) was used on the Schering Calendar for 1999

 

 

Schering Calendars 

by John Wattie  (not all years are currently available)

1991,  1993,  1994,  1995,  
1996 (Medlab calendar)  1997, 
1998,  1999,  2000,  2001,  2002, 2003

  Kohukohu, Schering Calendar 2001John Wattie Astro-photography: Lunar eclipse 1986 Mt Talbot, Schering Calendar 1989:-) 

   

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