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Pink and White Terraces

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The Pink and White Terraces in New Zealand, or Otukapuarangi ("fountain of the clouded sky") and Te Tarata (Māori) were a natural wonder until they were destroyed by a violent volcanic eruption in 1886.

Similar to Pamukkale in Turkey, hot water containing large amounts of calcium bicarbonate precipitated calcium carbonate, leaving thick white layers of limestone and travertine cascading down the mountain slope, forming pools of water and terraces. The White terraces were the larger and more beautiful formation while the Pink terraces were where people went to bathe.

The terraces located on the edges of Lake Rotomahana near Rotorua were considered to be the eighth wonder of the natural world and were New Zealand's most famous tourist attraction (they were attracting tourists from Europe in the early 1880s when New Zealand was still relatively inaccessible) until they were destroyed when Mount Tarawera, five kilometres to the north, erupted at 03:00 on June 10, 1886.

The volcano belched out hot mud, red hot boulders and immense clouds of black ash. The eruption caused approximately 153 deaths and buried the village of Te Wairoa. The lake, and several others nearby, were substantially altered in shape and area by the eruption.

The former site of the terraces now forms part of the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley.

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