Story: Papatūānuku – the land

Geothermal features

Features of the landscape are explained in many tribal stories. In one tradition, the priest Ngātoroirangi was caught in bitterly cold weather and called his sisters from Hawaiki to New Zealand. The sisters, Te Hoata and Te Pupu, came as fire, which resulted in the geysers, mud pools and other geothermal phenomena of the North Island’s volcanic plateau. Click on the highlighted names to see some of the places they created.

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How to cite this page:

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, 'Papatūānuku – the land - Stories of people and land', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/11462/geothermal-features (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, published 24 Sep 2007