The 4 kilometers stretch of the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley running from Southern Crater to the shores of Lake Rotomahana has been a hotspot of geothermal and hydrothermal activity since the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption, and contains the three lake-filled craters Southern Crater, Echo Crater, and Inferno Crater, as well as the bush-clad Raupo Pond Crater, Fairy Crater and Black Crater.