5050 x 3381 px | 42,8 x 28,6 cm | 16,8 x 11,3 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
2008
Ubicazione:
Orakei Korako, The Hidden Valley, near Taupo, New Zealand
Altre informazioni:
Orakei Korako, meaning “The Place of Adorning” in Maori, is a highly active geothermal area most notable for a series of fault-stepped sinter terraces north of Taupo on the banks of the Waikato River It is also known as “The Hidden Valley”. The lowest terrace at Orakei Korako is the jade-green Emerald Terrace, which is the largest of its kind in NZ since the destruction of the famed Pink and White Terraces in the Mount Tarawera eruption of 1886. In very wet conditions up to 20 million litres of silica-enriched water per day may flow over the terrace and into Lake Ohakuri. The Emerald Terrace continues 35 metres under the lake, belying the tragic history of bad planning in the region, where the lake was formed for hydropower generation in 1961. This raised the Waikato River level by 18 metres at Orakei Korako, flooding approximately 200 alkaline hot springs and 70 geysers (or two thirds of the active thermal area). Some of these thermal features still discharge, with their presence evident as gas bubbles rising from the vents in the lake bed.
