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Hot Water Beach, the hot springs with Pacific view

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Located in the peninsula of the Coromandel to Whitianga 12km, the Hot Water Beach is known for its hot water springs. To reach the Hot Water Beach, it is necessary to dig the sand to create its own pool of thermal waters.

Origin of a hot spring

The hot springs are of the up hot water from geothermal energy whose source is in the depths of the Earth. In the majority of cases, the temperature of the rocks of the Earth’s crust increases with depth. We call this the “geothermal gradient. In a volcanic as the New Zealand area, water is in direct contact with a magma chamber. Water warm in depth and back then to the surface with a smell of suffer (that is often compared to a rotten egg smell).

Hot Water Beach
Geothermal energy in depth. The water heats up through the magma chamber and rises to the surface to form the hot springs

Where to find the Hot Water Beach?

The Hot Water Beach are not situated on the beach, it would be too simple 🙂 Sources have specific origins. When you arrive on the beach, go to the left and get some rocks along the beach. At the foot of the biggest rocks, you will find the first points of the sources. Going towards the sea, other sources are present, you will find them easily via the number of bundled tourists. Be careful, the water can reach very high levels (Yes it has been heated by magma anyway), so avoid you dive into it directly. If you can’t find them, no worries, there is always a lot of people who will help you find the warm waters;).

Hot Water Beach
Basin dug in the sand

Get to the points, you can dig several basins to the ocean, to enjoy the warm waters. For digging your pond many people will be happy to share with you their pool!

Finally a last information needed, look at the high and low tides. I highly recommend it if you want to enjoy plenty of sources. Because at high tide, you will lose a lot of hot spots.

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Chemical alteration of environment it

The presence of a thermal spring environments means a strong alteration of the surrounding rocks. Indeed, the high concentration of suffering, causes a chemical alteration of rocks, giving them a green/red color. Knowing that the sources are located below the rocks, we can assume that this alteration takes place during high tide. Indeed, sea water is an agent of chemical alteration, the mixture of thermal water and sea water results in the alteration of the rocks.

Hot Water Beach
Alteration of the rocks by the thermal waters at high tide
For all definitions: go to this page.
For the time scale is here!

 

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