Hamurana Springs

Hamurana Springs is the deepest natural fresh water spring on the North Island of New Zealand. Located to the north east of Lake Rotorua, the spring emerges from a rocky area within a Department of Conservation reserve.

Hamurana Springs Reserve

The Hamurana Springs are a collection of springs on the site in Hamurana, located on the north east side of Lake Rotorua, the biggest of which is Hangarua Spring.

Hangarua Spring

The spring is 920 feet (280 m) above sea level and is approximately 15 metres (50 ft) deep. It produces an estimated 4 million litres of crystal clear water per hour at a fairly constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. The rock surrounding this spring is volcanic (rhyolitic). The spring water travels down from the Mamaku Plateau through underground aquifers, taking 70 years to get here.

View on the Hangarua Spring from the top level viewing platform, in Hamurana Springs reserve, Rotorua, NZ.

Dancing Sands Spring

Another identified spring in the reserve is the Dancing Sands spring, named because of the effect of the emerging water on the sand on the bottom of the spring.

The Dancing Sands spring in the Hamurana Springs Reserve, Rotorua, NZ.

Hamurana Stream

The spring flows as a stream for approximately one kilometre in the Hamurana Springs Reserve through a patch of redwoods forest before joining Lake Rotorua.[1] In summer the stream is home to rainbow trout who prefer the cooler temperature of the spring water.

Trout close to the Hangarua Spring in the Hamurana Springs reserve, Rotorua, NZ.
The Hamurana stream in the Hamurana Springs reserve, Rotorua, NZ.

Ownership

Ownership of the springs and other nearby sites of cultural significance was returned to the Ngati Rangiwewehi iwi under the Ngati Rangiwewehi Claims Settlement Bill 2014.[2] The Act also declares the Hamurana Springs A and Hamurana Springs B as reserves subject to sections 17 and 18 respectively of the Reserves Act 1977.[3]

References

Coordinates: 38°01′51″S 176°15′18″E / 38.0308°S 176.2550°E / -38.0308; 176.2550

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.