New Zealand's lost natural wonder

[Caligastia]

Similar to the the Pamukkale terraces in Turkey, New Zealand's Pink and White Terraces were considered the 8th wonder of the natural world. Formed over thousands of years by limestone deposits left by hot springs, the pools of water and terraces were a major New Zealand tourist attraction until the violent 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera completely destroyed them.

Visitors travelled by steamer to Tauranga, taking a bridle track to Ohinemutu on the shores of Lake Rotorua, a coach trip to Te Wairoa, a two-hour canoe journey, and finally a walk over the narrow isthmus separating the swampy shores of Lake Rotomahana from Lake Tarawera.

The White Terraces (Te Tarata - the tattooed rock) were the larger and more beautiful, covering seven acres and falling 30 metres to Lake Rotomahana. Their frontage at the bottom spanned 240 metres.

Otukapuarangi (Fountain of the Clouded Sky), or the Pink Terraces, ascended to the crater platform where 3 metre-deep basins were filled with clear blue water.

Victorian travellers recorded their experience in a rich legacy of art, photographs and words.
Writer Anthony Trollope enjoyed a bath in one of the pools of the Pink Terrace in 1874:

"In the bath, when you strike your chest against it, it is soft to the touch, you press yourself against it and it is smooth.....The baths are shell-like in shape, like vast open shells, the walls of which are concave and the lips ornamented in a thousand forms."



High-res Photo

[Arrian]

I've been there. Well, obviously they're gone now, but I've been to the lake...

There is some pretty cool stuff there now. But what was destroyed in 1886 seems to have been really magnificent.

Quite an eruption, btw. IIRC, there are two large boulders in Lake Taupo that were ejected from Tarawera.

-Arrian

[Caligastia]

There is actually a company in the area that is attempting to rebuild them:

A hundred and twenty years have been and gone since the biggest volcanic eruption in New Zealand’s history claimed the thermal wonder that was the Pink and White Terraces. But now, for the first time since 1886, tourists will have the chance to marvel at the shimmering terraces once again, thanks to a combination of man's handiwork, and the touch of Mother Nature.

The original terraces, often referred to as New Zealand's eighth wonder of the world, were said to have risen like a giant wedding cake from the banks of Lake Rotomhana. Formed over thousands of years, they are now set to be rebuilt, with a man-made staircase being constructed 80 km from Mount Tarawera.


Picture source: Alexander Turnbull Library

The company undertaking the building of the new terraces will also be constructing a geyser that will pump silica-rich water from a geothermal power plant at Wairakei. The geyser will pour super-heated water cascading over the newly-built terraces that will stand some eight meters high, and should recreate the beauty of the scenery that was lost when Mount Tarawera erupted, and the surrounding area was engulfed in ash and lava for miles around.

Beyond the work being carried out by man, nature itself is playing an equally important role in recreating the incredible hues of pink and white that made the original terraces such an incredible spectacle, and the good news is that after only a year, they are already assuming the striking colours that will make for a stunning scene in the years to come.

http://www.overseas-emigration.co.uk/news/immigration-news/magic-of-pink-and-white-terraces-recreated-in-new-zealand.html

[Barnabas]

The moving stone of Tandil, a lost natural wonder of south america

a 300 tons rock whih was in perfect equilibrium, it fell in 1912







It really moved, people would put bottles next to the base of the stone and the bottles would get broken