The saddle marks the entrance of South Crater, with Ngaruhoe rising to the right. The basaltic lava flows of the 1954 eruption are still a clearcut feature of the upper slopes of Ngaruhoe. Older, larger lava flows have spread widely in the head of the valley, where lighter colouring indicates more advanced stages of weathering and colonisation by the vegetation. Right in the head of the valley, at the bottom of the Saddle, the green area reveals the location of Soda Springs.