Scientists locate lost ‘natural wonder’
A 19th-century diary and handdrawn maps have led scientists to confirm the location of New Zealand’s lost natural wonder – the Pink and White Terraces.
Scientists from Niwa (the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research) studied the only known formal survey of Lake Rotomahana – 20 kilometres southeast of Rotorua – before the volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886.
German-Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter’s survey included important details about the terraces, small geothermal features around the lake and some distant landmarks.
‘‘Our research agrees with previous findings by Professor Ron Keam and GNS Science that the former sites of the terraces are under the modern Lake Rotomahana,’’ Dr Andrew Lorrey said.
The fabled Pink and White Terraces – also known as Te Otukapuarangi – were once dubbed the eighth wonder of the world and were a thriving tourist spot.
The terraces formed over thousands of years as silica-rich water emerging from springs and boiling geysers crystallised into giant tiered staircases.
The White Terrace covered more than 3 hectares, while the smaller Pink Terrace was used for bathing on the lower levels.
There was also a smaller, lesser known feature called Tuhi’s Spring, or the Black Terrace.
Both terraces disappeared after the Mt Tarawera eruption – the largest and most destructive in New Zealand since the early 19th century.
It devastated the surrounding countryside, destroyed several villages and was responsible for about 120 deaths.
Lorrey and fellow Niwa scientist John-Mark Woolley evaluated von Hochstetter’s diary notes and reconstructed his survey sites around Lake Rotomahana with a remote sensing system that uses light pulses to measure distance and topography.
They combined that information with sketches drawn by von Hochstetter, and a map published in 1862, to pinpoint the former location of the terraces.
Von Hochstetter’s notes contained several other draft maps, which were progressively refined as he worked.
‘‘You can see how he reconsidered two or three times how to draw things and how to orientate them,’’ Lorrey said. ‘‘The published map is faithful to the diary measurements, and the results we obtained align to previous research on where the terraces might be.’’
The latest research by Niwa was carried out at the request of Tu¯ hourangi Tribal Authority after conflicting findings about the former location of the site.
The eruption of Tarawera was so violent it was heard in Auckland and the South Island. It left a 17km-long gash through Mt Tarawera and south-westward under the lake.
After the eruption, the lake level rose at least 60 metres and its area grew about five times.
Niwa’s results were published yesterday in scientific journal Frontiers Of Earth Science.