Hipaua Steaming Cliffs

The 0.75-kilometre (0.47 mi) long steaming cliffs are part of a 7-hectare (17-acre)[1] geothermal area that crosses the escarpment on the line of the Waihi fault.

The scarp is somewhat eroded and much of the steaming cliffs area is a slope of about 30 degrees covered by native bush.

It may well extend in a fault complex another 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) on land or even beyond the shore line of Lake Taupō.

The nearby intra-rift Poutu fault zone to the east, by about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), is parallel to the Waihi fault and has been characterised from surface features south of the Tongariro River flood plain and estimated, to have similar magnitude earthquakes every 550 years[2] Large landslides occurred on 7 May 1846 (60 dead) and 20 March 1910 (one died) adjacent to the steaming cliffs area.

[1] These landslide events have been reported to be associated with earthquakes, the potential for hydrothermal eruptions and rain and all might play roles separately or together at various times.

The Hipaua geothermal area is shown to the south of Lake Taupō in light blue. In this map recent eruption vents are in red and are some distance away.