[Geysers] Geyser report from New Zealand

[Tara Cross]

A message from Tara Cross and David Monteith 17 Dec 2005


Greetings from New Zealand, where we have been able to see some great geyser 
activity!

In two trips to the Whakarewarewa area, we were able to see a total of 7 
eruptions of Pohutu Geyser.  On the first day of observation (Wed 14 Dec), 
we saw Pohutu twice.

Events occurred as follows:

1038ns Prince of Wales Feathers
1054 Pohutu (d=15m); Feathers ended at the same time as Pohutu
1124 Prince of Wales Feathers
1136 Pohutu

The second eruption of Pohotu looked very much like the first, building to 
full height (roughly 90 feet) and then subsiding to about 30-40 feet, with 
Prince of Wales Feathers still erupting to about half height (15-20 feet).  
However, it did not stop after this; it continued to erupt, not unlike 
Clepsydra, for the rest of the time we were in the area (until 1700).

We must also note that we saw another geyser to the south (roughly) of 
Pohutu which we identified as Waikorohihi.  It had splashing to 1-3 feet 
during the first eruption of Pohutu, but had a much larger, more sustained 
eruption to about 10 feet during the second eruption of Pohutu.  The 
duration was approximately 3 minutes.  (Unfortunately, I was too busy 
juggling cameras to write down an accurate time!  Thanks to Dr. Keam for 
helpnig us identify which geyser we saw.)

For Yellowstone people:  It's hard to describe Pohutu adequately; suffice to 
say that it is an impressive geyser, putting out a lot of water in each 
eruption and erupting frequently.  Prince of Wales Feathers reminded us a 
lot of Vent Geyser, though a bit smaller.  Waikorohihi was reminiscent of 
Plate Geyser when it was at full size.

On the second day of observation (Sat 17 Dec), we saw:

1020 Pohutu and Feathers shut off
1043 Prince of Wales Feathers
1058 Pohutu (d=18m) once again, Feathers ended at the same time; we found 
this true in all observed cases
1130ns Prince of Wales Feathers
1143 Pohutu (d=19m)
1211 Prince of Wales Feathers
1223 Pohutu
1305ns Pohutu
1345ie Pohutu

Waikorohihi was not observed on 17 Dec.  We observed it puffing steam, but 
no water was seen.


Orakei-Korako, 16 Dec 2005

We saw a total of 8 geysers and 1 perpetual spouter at Orakei-Korako.  I 
have not been able to go through my data or properly identify most of the 
features we saw in the Artists Palette area, so this is a quick summary 
(apologies to those who know the area better for my poor descriptions!).

We saw Sapphire Geyser erupt 4 times: 1416, 1510, 1613, and 1706.  This was 
a fine geyser that looked like a half-size version of Aurum (8-10 feet) with 
durations of 40-50 seconds.

Dave saw a second geyser on the terrace near Sapphire Geyser.  We determined 
that it was either S114, S115, or S117.  It looked like a weak eruption of 
Pink Geyser, reaching a height of at most 2 feet and lastng at least a few 
minutes.

In the Artist's Palette area, we saw a number of wonderful small geysers.  
(Observing this area reminded me of spending an afternoon in the North Group 
at Shoshone--one had to be alert to catch the starts of the various 
geysers.)

We think we identified the following geysers (a warning to New Zealand 
geyser watchers--we may have some of these identifications wrong, so please 
correct us!):

Square Pool - the water level appeared to be down about 4 feet in this pool, 
but we could see the tops of eruptions that occurred regularly every 9 
minutes.  Most eruptions did not reach higher than the rim, but the highest 
burst we saw was about 1 foot above the rim.  We therefore estimate the 
height at 3-5 feet.

S773 - this geyser erupted every 15-17 minutes or so to 2-3 feet with 
variable durations of about 60-90 sec.  We did not see nearby S774, but 
water levels were high enough that these springs were connected above 
ground.  We did see S774 have large surges of overflow from time to time.

Palette Pool - this feature was completely drained and dry.

Unfortunately, these were the only geysers we were able to identify.  We saw 
4 other geysers.  Two had intervals in the 15-25 minute range, while 2 
erupted only once.  These ranged in size from 2-10 feet.  One of the 
frequent geysers erupted from a white terrace area to the east and looked a 
great deal like Pyramid Geyser, only smaller (~2 feet).  They were 
delightful to watch, especially when we did not know which feature was going 
to surprise us by erupting.

If anyone is interested in more thorough descriptions, I can make these 
available when I return home.

On an additional note, we also went to the thermal cave at Orakei-Korako, 
the Ruatapu Cave.  If anyone is ever visiting there, it's definitely worth 
looking at--there is a hot spring at the bottom of a deep cave.  Unlike so 
many features in New Zealand, the water was so clear that Dave stepped in 
it, not realizing that he had reached the edge.

Oh, and how could I forget Wai-O-Tapu.

We had the Lady Knox experience.  Needless to say, a soaped eruption of a 
modified geyser that clearly erupts out of a pipe is not terribly 
satisfying.  Oh, and the eruption occurred right on time.

That is all for now--we hope many more gazers come and enjoy the wonderful 
thermal areas of New Zealand.

-- Tara Cross and David Monteith

fanandmortar at hotmail.com
dmonteit at icehouse.net