New Zealand:

New Zealand's Geothermal Wonderland 
(San Francisco Chronicle)

A mud pool bubbles near Rotorua, New Zealand, 
where Earth's perpetual activity of blowing off steam 
is embraced by those who live there. 
(Courtesy: Destination Rotorua Marketing / SF) 

Thanks to its perch on the edges of the Pacific and Australian plates, New Zealand's geothermal features are rivaled only by Yellowstone National Park and Iceland. The turbulent forces that formed New Zealand are most evident on the country's North Island, near the city of Rotorua. The region's bubbling mud pools, hot springs and skyrocketing geysers are a constant reminder that this place rests on the Ring of Fire.

Unlike Yellowstone, however, where there's only gawking at the geothermal wonderland, in New Zealand, both native Maori and settlers have incorporated the excitement into their daily lives. Naturally heated pools are used for cooking and laundry, and celebratory weekend crowds soak in lakes where thermal springs lie just below the surface.

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