Wairakei is the name of a power station, small settlement and a geothermal area a few kilometres north of Taupo

Taupo

Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....

, in the centre of the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, on the Waikato River

Waikato River

The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...

.

Geothermal field

With several natural geysers, hot pools and boiling mud pools, it is also the home of the Wairakei Power Station

Wairakei Power Station

The Wairakei Power Station is a geothermal power station near the Wairakei Geothermal Field in New Zealand. Wairakei lies in the Taupo Volcanic Zone.- History :...

, a major geothermal electric power generating station. The station was the second large-scale geothermal facility worldwide, and was commissioned in 1958. It was listed in the book 70 Wonders Of The Modern World published in 2000 by Reader's Digest to record The Eventful 20th Century.

Settlement

The settlement, referred to as Wairakei Village, was constructed to house the workers of both the power station and the neighbouring Aratiatia

Aratiatia

Aratiatia Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the first hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, and is located downstream of Lake Taupo....

 hydro power station.

External links

• Wairakei - information at Environment Waikato