The North Island of New Zealand has long been a source of natural geothermal activity in the form of fumaroles, boiling springs, mud pots and volcanic eruptions. One of the more famous eruptions, Mt. Tarawera, occurred in 1886 killing over 100 people and burying the famous Pink and White Terraces on the edge of Lake Rotomahana. These terraces, composed of beautiful fan-shaped staircases of silica, had fortunately been captured by artists of the time, and later reproduced on stamps. The Maori were the first to see and use these natural wonders, and later the Europeans changed the thermal energy into electric power