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Named for a female ghost, Gunnuhver is a very active geothermal area on the southwest tip of the Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula. With temperatures exceeding 300°C (570°F), it features large steam vents and boiling mud pools that can occasionally spew slag and hot clay into the surrounding area. In recent years Gunnuhver has become more active, creating new vents and mud flows that have changed its features and destroyed some earlier structures.
The Gunnuhver geothermal field located to the SW of Reykjavik, Iceland, on the Reykjanes peninsula, made for an interesting visit with its complex of plants designed to recover the geothermal energy for man's use. A geothermal plant can be seen in the background. The area is dotted with abandoned geothermal wells such as the large one photographed here, geysers, steaming fumaroles and boiling mud pools. The area is located along the geologically active North Atlantic Rift, where the North American and Eurasian Tectonic plates meet.
Expansive view from Namafjall, with steam vent in the foreground on the right, volcanic landscape with storm and mountans n the background
Just off the road to Krýsuvík is a solfatara field at Seltún, Iceland which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates are found around many of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs. Yellow spots of sulphur were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away.”
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
Mud rings, steam and geothermal gas heated by vents are released and mix with surface water. The viscosity is sufficient to make mud rings.
Wai-O-Tapu near Rotorua, New Zealand
Námaskarð: The hot springs of Hverir, east of Námafjall, are one of Iceland’s largest sulphurous hot spring areas.
The smell here was awful ! There were warnings not to stray off the paths as people who had done so had gone through into the boiling mud below !
Best viewed Large on Black - Press "L"
** Please do not use without my permission **
Jon Strange
I have also made a short Video
Rotorua.
The city lies on the edge of a volcanic lake which is 12 kms long and 10 kms wide. Rotorua’s population is around 65,000 with outlying districts. About 15% of the population of NZ are Maori but Rotorua is a traditional Maori centre and the Maori population of Rotorua is over 35%. Roughly 28% of Maori people in Rotorua speak Maori. Despite tourism the unemployment rate for the Maoris is higher than the average for white New Zealanders. Rotorua is 950 feet or nearly 300 metres above sea level. It has a mild climate and snowfall is rare. It receives 1,440 mms of a rain a year or 58 inches, spread evenly across all months. It is an ideal climate for gardening! Rotorua means “second lake” in Maori but the term for the area by the lake is less flattering – “evil smelling place.” Apart from the thermal sights the town tried to emulate the European spa towns of old so the original Rotorua Bath House is Tudoresque in style. It was built in 1906-7 by the government as a health resort. The formal gardens surrounding it include a war memorial (built in 1927) for the local Maori soldiers who had been in conflict with the Pakeha in the 19th century. St. Faith’s Anglican Church was also built in the Tudor style in 1910. Near the church is a bust of Queen Victoria given by the Queen herself in 1870 to the Arawa Maori people because they supported the government during the Maori Land Wars. The gardens themselves were a gift from the Maori people to the city of Rotorua and they were given in 1883. The government took control of the gardens after 1898. Over 420,000 bedding plants are used in the floral displays annually in addition to orchids, roses and shrubs. Over 1.3 million people visit Rotorua annually with two thirds of them being international visitors.
Some Geography of the Rotorua Area.
Rotorua’s hot springs and mud pools and geysers are powered by the collision between two immense tectonic plates. Just east of the North Island the sea floor of the Pacific plate slides under the lighter continental crust of the Indo-Australian plate and continues to push forward while sinking at an angle underneath the North Island. When the sinking Pacific plate reaches a depth of about 80 kms it melts and great streams of hot lava come pushing their way up to the surface. A particular feature of Rotorua is that this part of the crust of the Indo-Australian plate is not very thick at this point only 15-20 kms instead of the more usual 35-45 kms of thickness. This means the effects of the molten lava or magma is intensified around Rotorua. The Taupo Volcanic Zone follows the line where the descending plate hits 80 kms beneath and the hot lava rises to near the surface. This line actually extends under the sea all the way past Tonga then north to the equator and it is part of the “Ring of Fire” that encircles the Pacific Ocean. The volcanoes of the Philippines, Japan and Alaska and Washington State in the US are all part of this ring. The fault lines of California are also part of this ring.
Most houses and business of Rotorua have bores going down to tap the hot water from the mineral pools for their hot water supplies. There were so many bores that at one time the water table started to drop and thermal features of geysers at Whakarewarewa became less active. Since then the City limits the number of new bores. The geysers and bubbling pools of mud found at Whakarewarewa (the main geyser is Pohutu) can also emerge overnight in suburban lawns and city parks with spectacular results. Most of Rotorua smells strongly of hydrogen sulphide the gas given off by the springs and mud. It is harmless to tourists. Not far from Rotorua are three major active volcanoes- Ruapehu (the highest in the North Island) Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The zone of active volcanoes extends across to the east coast and the most recent volcano is White Island, 50 kms from Whakatane. It is still being formed and grows in size most years. In this central volcanic zone there are 130 volcanic cones or domes. In the past there have been at least seven major explosions. When pressure builds up too quickly as the plates move a volcanic explosion is usually the result. The hydrothermal zones near Rotorua are used for electricity generation. Water temperatures within these fields can be as high as 320 degrees centigrade and in places the thermal pools are only half a km underground. On some pools sulphur crusts form on the edge of lakes to produce vibrant orange-yellow lines and stains. This thermal zone has been active for more than 100,000 years.
In 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption hence the buried village of Te Wairo. Much later a similar kind of disaster happened in this region. A small crater on the side of Mt Ruapehu (2,800 metre high) exploded in 1953 sending a mud slide down the mountain side which flowed into the Whangaehu River. This was on Christmas Eve 1953. Unfortunately the flood washed away the rail bridge on the main Wellington to Auckland railway line. The first six carriages of the overnight sleeper train along with the train engine plunged into the swollen river. The Tangiwai disaster claimed the lives of 151 of the 285 people on board the train that night. Almost all those who perished were in second class carriages at the front of the train. In those days leading politicians did not rely on experts. The NZ Prime Minster sped down from Auckland by car during the night and coordinated rescue operations himself on site! He coordinated the rescue work of railway, army, police, navy, local farmers and undertakers!
See the steam stream of Gunnuhver, Iceland´s largest mud pool – 65' (20 meters) wide of violently boiling earth at the southwest part of the Reykjanes Peninsula, on one of the world's major tectonic plate boundaries, the Mid Atlantic Ridge, where the North Atlantic ridge is rising from the ocean, a highly active geothermal area of mud pools & steam vents – a unique characteristic: the groundwater is 100% seawater, unlike other geothermal areas on the island, and temperatures exceed 570°F (300°C); colorful minerals in the ground provide vibrant hues near 100 different craters, with lava, bird cliffs, powerplant, lighthouses, exhibitions, and sand beach [center, left] with The Bridge Between Continents at Sandvík (built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America)
I want to go visit Iceland! ...This is as close as I've gotten; so far...
The Sol de Manana Geysers are in the Bolivian Altiplano, inside the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Abaroa. There are several geysers and mud pools of different colors, and nobody there to spoil the moment.
Processing: burn the rocks on the bottom right as they were very bright.
Geothermal mud pools are acidic, boiling or bubbling, viscous natural features formed when steam, sulfur gases and hot water rise through underground rock, altering it into clay and mud.
I saw this spectacular activity at Wai-o-Tapu, south of Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island. The solid mass of ejected material above is well over 1m in height, with elements that broke off reaching perhaps 2m in altitude. Marks on the surface of the water in the upper-right of the image show where other, smaller bubbles had broken to the surface earlier.
Quite tricky to photograph as you cannot predict when the next bubble will erupt, nor exactly where in the pool they will appear, nor how vigorous a particular burst will be, leading to a lot of 'almost' shots... This was the best of mine!
This mound of sinster may indicate past geyser activity in the solfatara field at Seltún which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates occur around most of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs. Yellow spots of sulphur were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away."
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
This stream runs through the solfatara field at Seltún, Iceland which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates around some of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away."
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
This view of Seltún is looking across the hot springs basin east to the parking lot. Seltún, Iceland is a solfatara field just off the road to Krýsuvík which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates occur around many of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs. Yellow spots of sulphur were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away.”
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
Detail of a mudpot in Ölfusvatnslaugar geothermal area, southwest Iceland.
A mudpot is an acidic hot spring of boiling mud, sometimes found in high-temperature geothermal areas. The clay is formed when sulfuric acid in the spring breaks down the surrounding rock. Formation of sulfuric acid is facilitated by microorganisms, which use hydrogen sulfide as an energy source.
Just off the road to Krýsuvík is a solfatara field at Seltún, Iceland which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates around some of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away.”
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
Just off the road to Krýsuvík is a solfatara field at Seltún, Iceland which contains mud pools, acidic hot springs; fumaroles and steaming ground. Fumaroles in the area deposit sulfur and sulphates on the ground near the vents. Fumaroles whose steam is rich in sulfur are called solfataras. The main sulphur area is a fumarole field that lies southwest of the boardwalk at Seltún but sulfur and sulphates are found around many of the steam vents, mud pools and acidic hot springs. Yellow spots of sulphur were visible to us as we strolled along the boardwalk.
Seltún is part of the large Krýsuvík Geothermal field which lies on one of the NE-SW trending volcanic systems that cross the Reykjanes Peninsula. The volcanic zones lie in the middle of the fissure zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland and are visible along the south of Reykjanes.
In the mid-20th century there were plans to develop the geothermal field for utilization, including power production, and Seltún then became one of the main drilling targets. There are old drill pads to be seen near the path along the creek. According to the Iceland Geosurvey (ISOR) one of the "boreholes started erupting intermittently in the winter of 2010". They reported that an interval of a few days between the eruptions. We found the spot but on two different visits to the field I saw no sign of geyser activity. ISOR also reports "another old borehole blew up in 1999 forming a crater with a diameter of about 30 m, now filled by mud except where a flow of steam keeps boiling pits open". That unexpected explosion in 1999 reportedly caused the geothermal project to be halted. The springs have been preserved due to the lack of drilling and geothermal exploitation.
Temperatures are over 200 degrees C just below the surface. Geologist from the Iceland Geosurvey believe "the water of the pools is surface water heated by steam from a boiling geothermal reservoir. Accompanying gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide acidify the water and alter the rock to clay. Only the uppermost 300 m of the reservoir at Seltún is boiling, i.e., follows the boiling curve in accordance with increasing pressure. Below this depth, a temperature inversion occurs, indicating that the boiling section is fed laterally from an upflow some distance away."
The geothermal field is located in the Reykjanes Geopark.
Geologic and geothermal info from Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) . Some text in the caption from their web page at: www.geothermal.is/17-seltun-high-temperature-area-solfataras
"Artist Pallet" minerals give it its fantastic colours, a sulphurous yellow
Wai-O-Tapu near Rotorua New Zealand
Rotorua.
The city lies on the edge of a volcanic lake which is 12 kms long and 10 kms wide. Rotorua’s population is around 65,000 with outlying districts. About 15% of the population of NZ are Maori but Rotorua is a traditional Maori centre and the Maori population of Rotorua is over 35%. Roughly 28% of Maori people in Rotorua speak Maori. Despite tourism the unemployment rate for the Maoris is higher than the average for white New Zealanders. Rotorua is 950 feet or nearly 300 metres above sea level. It has a mild climate and snowfall is rare. It receives 1,440 mms of a rain a year or 58 inches, spread evenly across all months. It is an ideal climate for gardening! Rotorua means “second lake” in Maori but the term for the area by the lake is less flattering – “evil smelling place.” Apart from the thermal sights the town tried to emulate the European spa towns of old so the original Rotorua Bath House is Tudoresque in style. It was built in 1906-7 by the government as a health resort. The formal gardens surrounding it include a war memorial (built in 1927) for the local Maori soldiers who had been in conflict with the Pakeha in the 19th century. St. Faith’s Anglican Church was also built in the Tudor style in 1910. Near the church is a bust of Queen Victoria given by the Queen herself in 1870 to the Arawa Maori people because they supported the government during the Maori Land Wars. The gardens themselves were a gift from the Maori people to the city of Rotorua and they were given in 1883. The government took control of the gardens after 1898. Over 420,000 bedding plants are used in the floral displays annually in addition to orchids, roses and shrubs. Over 1.3 million people visit Rotorua annually with two thirds of them being international visitors.
Some Geography of the Rotorua Area.
Rotorua’s hot springs and mud pools and geysers are powered by the collision between two immense tectonic plates. Just east of the North Island the sea floor of the Pacific plate slides under the lighter continental crust of the Indo-Australian plate and continues to push forward while sinking at an angle underneath the North Island. When the sinking Pacific plate reaches a depth of about 80 kms it melts and great streams of hot lava come pushing their way up to the surface. A particular feature of Rotorua is that this part of the crust of the Indo-Australian plate is not very thick at this point only 15-20 kms instead of the more usual 35-45 kms of thickness. This means the effects of the molten lava or magma is intensified around Rotorua. The Taupo Volcanic Zone follows the line where the descending plate hits 80 kms beneath and the hot lava rises to near the surface. This line actually extends under the sea all the way past Tonga then north to the equator and it is part of the “Ring of Fire” that encircles the Pacific Ocean. The volcanoes of the Philippines, Japan and Alaska and Washington State in the US are all part of this ring. The fault lines of California are also part of this ring.
Most houses and business of Rotorua have bores going down to tap the hot water from the mineral pools for their hot water supplies. There were so many bores that at one time the water table started to drop and thermal features of geysers at Whakarewarewa became less active. Since then the City limits the number of new bores. The geysers and bubbling pools of mud found at Whakarewarewa (the main geyser is Pohutu) can also emerge overnight in suburban lawns and city parks with spectacular results. Most of Rotorua smells strongly of hydrogen sulphide the gas given off by the springs and mud. It is harmless to tourists. Not far from Rotorua are three major active volcanoes- Ruapehu (the highest in the North Island) Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The zone of active volcanoes extends across to the east coast and the most recent volcano is White Island, 50 kms from Whakatane. It is still being formed and grows in size most years. In this central volcanic zone there are 130 volcanic cones or domes. In the past there have been at least seven major explosions. When pressure builds up too quickly as the plates move a volcanic explosion is usually the result. The hydrothermal zones near Rotorua are used for electricity generation. Water temperatures within these fields can be as high as 320 degrees centigrade and in places the thermal pools are only half a km underground. On some pools sulphur crusts form on the edge of lakes to produce vibrant orange-yellow lines and stains. This thermal zone has been active for more than 100,000 years.
In 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption hence the buried village of Te Wairo. Much later a similar kind of disaster happened in this region. A small crater on the side of Mt Ruapehu (2,800 metre high) exploded in 1953 sending a mud slide down the mountain side which flowed into the Whangaehu River. This was on Christmas Eve 1953. Unfortunately the flood washed away the rail bridge on the main Wellington to Auckland railway line. The first six carriages of the overnight sleeper train along with the train engine plunged into the swollen river. The Tangiwai disaster claimed the lives of 151 of the 285 people on board the train that night. Almost all those who perished were in second class carriages at the front of the train. In those days leading politicians did not rely on experts. The NZ Prime Minster sped down from Auckland by car during the night and coordinated rescue operations himself on site! He coordinated the rescue work of railway, army, police, navy, local farmers and undertakers!
Krafla is a caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone, in the north of Iceland in the Mývatn region. Its highest peak reaches up to 818 m and it is 2 km in depth. There have been 29 reported eruptions in recorded history.
The Krafla area also includes Námafjall, a geothermal area with boiling mudpools and steaming fumaroles.
Between 1975 and 1984 there was a volcanic episode within the Krafla volcano. It involved nine volcanic eruptions and fifteen uplift and subsidence events. This interrupted some of the Krafla drillfields. During these events a large magma chamber emerged. This has been identified by analysing the seismic activity.
Since 1977 the Krafla area has been the source of the geothermal energy used by a 60 MWe power station. A survey undertaken in 2006 indicated very high temperatures at depths of between 3 and 5 kilometres and these favourable conditions have led to the development of the first well from the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), that found magma only 2.1 km deep. [from Wikipedia]
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