A 65-meter wide, 62-meter deep geothermal spring formed 900 years ago by a hydrothermal eruption, its 74°C waters edged with a vivid orange ring of arsenic-antimony sulfide deposits and trace amounts of actual gold.
Nine hundred years ago, a hydrothermal eruption tore open the earth at what is now the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. The crater filled with water from deep geothermal sources — water at 74°C, supersaturated with dissolved minerals, continuously releasing carbon dioxide gas. The gas is what gives it the name. The surface of Champagne Pool constantly fizzes with CO2 bubbles rising from depth. The chemistry is the spectacle. The water carries dissolved gold, silver, arsenic, thallium, and mercury. As it reaches the cooler surface near the pool's edge, these minerals precipitate out — depositing a vivid orange-red crust of arsenic-antimony sulfide around the entire perimeter. The gold content is trace but measurable. The pool has been slowly depositing gold in its mineral crust for nine centuries. It is still making more.