White Terraces found | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Scientists searching the depths of Lake Rotomahana have discovered what they believe to be the remains of the White Terraces.

Just months after scientists from New Zealand and the United States located remains of the Pink Terraces, they announced yesterday - the 125th anniversary of the Tarawera eruption - that remnants of the White Terraces had also been found.

Once known as the eighth wonder of the world, the Pink and White Terraces were thought to have been destroyed in the Mt Tarawera eruption of 1886.

In January, after a 10-day survey of the lake bed using two autonomous underwater vehicles, scientists located the bottom two tiers of the Pink Terraces 60m under water.

The project was a collaboration between GNS Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute from the United States, the University of Waikato and Te Arawa Lakes Trust.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is most famous for the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985.

Project leader Cornel de Ronde said the latest find came after studying side-scan sonar data of the lake floor collected in January.

"The two places on the lake floor where we encountered hard, up-standing crescent-shaped features correspond to the locations of the Pink and White Terraces before the Tarawera eruption.

"The sonar image that appears to show part of the White Terraces came to light after the project had finished. It shows a horizontal segment of terraces over 100m long, although we don't know which part of the terraces it is.

"The rounded terrace edges are standing up from the lake floor by about a metre in some places. The sonar images of both sets of terraces are strikingly similar," Dr de Ronde said.

The structures are about 60m underwater - a similar depth to the remains of the Pink Terraces found in January.

Tuhourangi kaumatua Anaru Rangiheuea, whose ancestors were killed or displaced by the June 10 eruption of Mt Tarawera 125 years ago, said it was an exciting find and solved the mystery of the missing terraces.

"It's been a special day for our people, marking the anniversary of the eruption which killed so many of our ancestors and the discovery of both terraces," he said.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Toby Curtis said it was "almost a spiritual journey back in time" when he first saw underwater pictures of the remains of the terraces.

"Before it occurred I just wanted finality, whether they were totally destroyed or not," he told The Daily Post.

"We were elated they were there, along with the vents under the lake.

"It was wonderful to see them. We were all very excited."

Dr de Ronde said the fate of the remaining sections of the Pink and White Terraces was unclear. He said they could have been destroyed in the eruption or be lying under thick sediment impenetrable to sonar signals used in the survey.

"Finding part of what we believe is the White Terraces as well [as the Pink Terraces] has been surprising and very satisfying.

"The original aim of the project ... was to map the lake floor and investigate the extensive geothermal system under the lake ... Anything else was a bonus."

Dr de Ronde said the announcement of the find was timed to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the eruption and a television documentary about the project that will screen on Prime at 8.30pm tomorrow.