Maruia Springs | |
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| Coordinates: 42°22′45″S 172°20′00″E / 42.37917°S 172.33333°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | West Coast |
| Elevation | 586 m (1,923 ft) |
Maruia Springs is a settlement in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the south bank of the Maruia River on State Highway 7 to the west of the Lewis Pass.[2]
The settlement is named for the nearby hot springs. While not as commercially exploited as other southern hot water springs (such as those at Hanmer Springs) it is still a popular spot with visitors.[3] Water at 55 °C (131 °F), or more, is pumped from springs and from a well to a hotel, Japanese bath house, six private spas and two rock pools.[4] The hot spring is probably fed through the nearby Awatere Fault.[5]
The hot pools at Maruia have been known to Māori people for hundreds of years and used by jade traders as a place to rest and rejuvenate on their gruelling walk over to the West Coast. In the late 1800s, European settlers built rustic huts, and over the next century, this eventually turned into a hotel.[3]
- ^ "Weather forecast for Maruia Springs".
- ^ Maruia valley – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- ^ a b Sabin, B., "Maruia Hot Springs: Inside New Zealand's hidden mountain hot springs," wwww.stuff.co.nz, 1 March 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "An Updated Assessment of Geothermal Direct Heat Use in New Zealand" (PDF). 2009.
- ^ Suggate, R. P.; Gair, H. S.; Gregg, D. R. (August 1961). "The south-west extension of the Awatere Fault". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 4 (3): 264–269. doi:10.1080/00288306.1961.10423126. ISSN 0028-8306.