Small geothermal systems

The smaller geothermal systems are mainly cooler, isolated sets of hot springs of tectonic origin (fed through fissure's in the earth’s crust) rather than volcanic origin.

There are 29 known small systems in the Waikato region:

Natural features

Most of the sites have hot springs or seeps, some of which form pools, depending on the nature of the surrounding ground. Most are in heavily modified environments and have little native geothermal vegetation remaining. For example:

• Miranda - has seeps remaining.
  
• Taputapu (Buffalo Beach) - has seeps remaining.
  
• Waingaro - had natural springs that supported geothermal vegetation, but these have been destroyed.

Condition

These systems are classified as Small Geothermal Systems by Environment Waikato. Some of the systems have been developed and used for public swimming facilities, for example the Miranda and Waingaro Hot Springs.

Find out more

Find out about three other small geothermal systems, the Te Aroha Hot Springs, Hot Water Beach and Whangairorohea.