Inferno Crater Lake

Story

Inferno Crater Lake is a large hot spring located in the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley on the North Island of New Zealand, and the largest geyser-like feature in the world. The actual geyser is not visible, as it plays underwater at the bottom of the lake, however, fumaroles are visible on the lake's shore and the rock wall behind it.The water temperature in the lake ranges from 35to, with acidity up to pH 2.2, and lake levels that vary up to, following a complicated 38-day cycle that includes an overflow stage. White silica deposits grow up to the overflow level, and the lake's colour is a result of finely divided silica suspended in the water. At low water levels the lake can be a dull grey colour, changing to an intensely sky blue colour at higher lake levels, in particular after the overflow stage.Inferno Crater was blasted out of the side of the locally prominent Mt Haszard as part of the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption, which opened several craters along a rift stretching southwest from Mount Tarawera to the nearby Southern Crater. Inferno Crater's trumpet-shaped lake bed is up to deep when the lake is full, which is also when it reaches its highest temperature.Since 1901 the lake occupying Inferno Crater has exhibited water-level variations closely associated with the Waimangu Geyser cycle. Inferno Crater Lake and its neighbouring Frying Pan Lake form a unique relationship and follow an interconnected rhythmic cycle of hydrology variations repeating itself over the course of roughly 38 days. When the water level and temperature of Inferno Crater Lake increase, the water level and outflow of Frying Pan Lake decrease. Comparable cyclic activity is unknown in other hydrothermal systems in the world.