Pink and White Terraces facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pink and White Terraces |
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The White Terraces by Charles Blomfield, 1884
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| Location |  New ZealandBay of Plenty |
| Coordinates | 38°15′38″S 176°25′50″E / 38.26056°S 176.43056°E |
| Spring source | Okataina |
| Type | Hot spring |
 Location in New Zealand
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The Pink and White Terraces were amazing natural wonders in New Zealand. They were made of a special rock called silica sinter. People believed they were the largest silica deposits on Earth!
The Pink Terrace was also known as Te Otukapuarangi in Māori, meaning "The fountain of the clouded sky." The White Terrace was called Te Tarata, meaning "the tattooed rock." For a long time, people thought these beautiful terraces were completely destroyed by the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera.
These terraces were formed by hot springs that bubbled up from underground. This water contained a lot of a mineral called silica. The Pink and White Terraces were part of a group of hot springs and geysers in the area.
The Pink and White Terraces were about 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) apart. The White Terrace was at the north end of Lake Rotomahana. It sloped down to the lake's edge, about 25 meters (82 feet) below. The Pink Terrace was further down the lake on the western side. Its pink color came from tiny amounts of minerals like antimony and arsenic.
Contents
How the Terraces Were Formed
Scientists used to think the Pink and White Terraces were about 1,000 years old. However, the hot spring system that created them might be as old as 7,000 years!
Over time, the silica in the water slowly built up. This created many beautiful pools and steps. The water would flow over these steps, making them grow bigger. This process also created warm, inviting pools perfect for swimming.
The White Terrace was the biggest formation. It covered about 8 hectares (20 acres). It had about 50 layers and dropped about 25 meters (82 feet) in height over a distance of 240 meters (790 feet). The Pink Terrace was smaller, dropping about 22 meters (72 feet) over 100 meters (330 feet). The top of the Pink Terrace was about 75–100 meters (246–328 feet) wide. Tourists loved to swim in the upper pools of the Pink Terrace because the water was clear and had different temperatures and depths.
A Look Back at Their History
One of the first Europeans to see the terraces was Ernst Dieffenbach in 1841. He wrote about his visit in a book called Travels in New Zealand. This book made people around the world interested in the Pink and White Terraces.
The terraces quickly became New Zealand's most famous tourist spot. Some people even called them the Eighth Wonder of the World. Getting to New Zealand back then was a long journey, often taking months by ship. The trip from Auckland was also quite difficult. Tourists had to travel by steamer, then by horse, coach, and canoe to reach the terraces.
Most of the tourists who made the journey were wealthy young men from other countries or British soldiers. Famous visitors included Sir George Grey in 1849 and the writer Anthony Trollope in 1874.
Many photographers took pictures of the terraces. But since color photography didn't exist yet, their photos couldn't show the amazing colors. Artists like Charles Blomfield painted the terraces. His paintings are a main record of how the "Eighth Wonder of the World" looked before it was lost in 1886. You can still see similar colors today at Waiotapu in New Zealand, especially at the Champagne Pool.
Local Māori guides helped tourists explore the terraces. Sophia Hinerangi, also known as Te Paea, became the main guide in the early 1880s. She even noticed strange changes in Lake Tarawera's water levels just before the eruption.
The Loss of the Terraces
On June 10, 1886, Mount Tarawera erupted. This powerful eruption spread for about 17 kilometers (11 miles). It went from the mountain, through Lake Rotomahana, and into the Waimangu valley. The volcano spewed out hot mud, red-hot rocks, and huge clouds of black ash.
After the eruption, a giant crater formed where the terraces used to be. It was over 100 meters (330 feet) deep! Over time, this crater filled with water, creating a new Lake Rotomahana. This new lake was much bigger and deeper than the old one.
Alfred Patchet Warbrick, a local boat builder, saw the eruption. He later became the main guide for the new sights that formed after the eruption. Warbrick always believed that the Pink and White Terraces had not been completely destroyed.
The Search for the Terraces
For a long time, everyone thought the terraces were gone forever after the 1886 eruption. But in 2011, a team of scientists explored the bottom of Lake Rotomahana. They announced they had found parts of the Pink Terraces! They reported finding the lowest two layers about 60 meters (200 feet) deep. Soon after, they also said they found a part of the White Terraces.
However, not everyone agreed. A scientist named Bill Keir said that the newly found structures were not in the right place. He thought they were too deep to be the original terraces. He suggested they might be older terraces or rock formations from the eruption.
The GNS team went back in 2012 and 2014 to take more pictures. When they published their work in 2016, they were less sure. They said the terraces were likely destroyed. In 2017, Bill Keir wrote an article saying the terraces could not have survived.
Then, in 2010, Sascha Nolden found old diaries belonging to a geologist named Ferdinand Hochstetter. These diaries had detailed maps and notes from his visit in 1859. By using these old notes, researchers Bunn and Nolden calculated the exact locations of the Pink and White Terraces.
Their research, published in 2018, suggested something amazing. They believed the terraces were not under the lake at all! Instead, they might be buried 10 to 15 meters (33 to 49 feet) underground along the old shoreline. If this is true, it might be possible to dig them up and show them to the public again. But this would need permission from the Māori tribe who own the land.
As of 2018, the local Māori tribe, the Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, was not yet convinced by these new claims. The debate about the true location of the terraces continues today.
Similar Amazing Places
There are other places around the world that look similar to the Pink and White Terraces:
- Badab-e Surt in Iran
- Hierve el Agua in Mexico
- Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park in the United States
- Pamukkale in Turkey
- Terme di Saturnia in Italy
Images for kids
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The White Terraces by Charles Blomfield, 1884
See also
In Spanish: Terrazas Rosas y Blancas para niños
