This steaming lake is situated in a crater that exploded 700 years ago. The crater is 62 meters deep with steep sides and extremely hot water. Water enters the lake from below with a temperature of 230 degrees centigrade (446 degrees Fahrenheit) and cools to about 74 degrees centigrade (165.2 Fahrenheit), which explains the hot, steaming surface water. The orange hue of the lake is from the mineral antimony contained in the lake. Interestingly, the lake also contains traces of arsenic, mercury, thallium, gold, and silver. The source of the intense heat in the subterranean streams is magma left from past eruptions. This intense heat allows water as hot as 300 degrees centigrade (572 Fahrenheit) to absorb minerals from the rocks and transport them throughout the hydrothermal system. The other side of the Champagne pool has an array of water colors called the "Artist's Pallet" derived from elements and minerals in the water such as colloidal sulfur, manganese oxide, silica, iron oxide, and carbon. A sulfur smell is all around the area from hydrogen sulfide.
Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook
This incredible view is from a lookout point on the edge of Lake Pukaki toward New Zealand's highest mountain - Mount Cook. Mount Cook rises 12,316 feet and is still uplifting today. The photograph demonstrates the striking light blue color of Lake Pukaki, which is from light scattering of fine grained particles such as glacial flower (microscopic grains of rock produced from grinding glaciers) and calcium content. Lake Pukaki is 50 - 60 kilometers long and 100 meters deep. The lake was formed over the last four (or more) glacial cycles and has accumulated 400 meters of mud during interglacials (warm periods). During a glacial cycle, such as the major glacial cycle 17,000 years ago, the ice was likely 600 to 700 meters thick. The basin in which the lake sits was carved out by erosion of massive glaciers and fills in with sediment during interglacial periods keeping the lake level relatively shallow (other glacial "finger lakes" are hundreds of meters deep). The lake level today is artificially raised 10 to 20 meters for hydroelectric power generation.
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