Orakei Korako

 

Orakei Korako is one of the most geothermally active areas in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, sitting on the banks of the Waikato River between Rotorua and Taupo. The site is best known for its silica sinter terraces. These have formed over thousands of years as silica-rich hydrothermal fluids reach the surface, cool, and precipitate out to form the pale pink and white sheets that now cover much of the hillside. These terraces are among the most extensive still intact in the world, much of the original Rotorua and Wairakei equivalents having been destroyed by geothermal development in the twentieth century.

The thermal features at Orakei Korako span a fairly wide range, from surface geysers and fumaroles to boiling mud pools and the deep, algae waters of Ruatapu Cave, a flooded hydrothermal vent where temperatures and mineral content keep the water a shade of green. The valley is accessible only by river crossing.