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The Pink and White Terraces

Near to Mount Tarawera was Lake Rotomahana. It was a very beautiful lake, and was famous for its Pink and White Terraces.

 

The Pink and White Terraces were formed over thousands of years. Each of the terrace sites was a hillside with a geyser at the top. The geysers spouted hot water which contained silica.

The hot water flowed from the boiling geysers down the hillside. As the water cooled, it was crystallised into terraces and pools, making something that looked like a giant staircase.  

People all around the world heard about this beautiful sight, and came to the area to see it for themselves.

The Maori from the villages nearby earned money from taking tourists out to the area, rowing them across the lake in a waka.

One set of the terraces was salmon pink in colour (because of amorphus antimony sulphides in the sinter).

Tourists could come and climb up them, and even bathe in some of the pools where the water wasn't too hot.

Unfortunately some people had written their names in the silica - grafitti!

The white terraces were even more spectacular, with the blue of the water shining against the white of the terraces.

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