The Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana: what was their fate after the 1886 Tarawera Rift eruption?

Ronde, C. E. J. de; Fornari, D.J.; Ferrini, V. L.; Walker, S. L.; Davy, Bryan; LeBlanc, C.; Tontini, F. Caratori; Kukulya, Amy; Littlefield, Robin

doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.02.003

Cited by 20 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Based on our results, "The Pinnacle" post-eruption fumarole feature (Smith, 1894) intersects the "Pinnacle Ridge" feature seen on the 1863 map (Figure 12). "The Pinnacle" post-eruption feature is located between and above where Waikanapanapa valley and Te Tarata were located (in a place previously suggested by others; de Ronde et al, 2016a;Keam, 2016). In addition, the distance of "The Pinnacle" from the location of the Black Terrace Crater and the Black Terrace is congruent with field measurements after the eruption (Smith, 1886), despite uncertainty as to whether or not those two sites are one in the same.…”

Section: Validation Of the Map Orientation Scale And Suggested Locasupporting

confidence: 74%

“…The location and orientation of the Pink Terrace we have ascribed nests that former site within a subtly reduced region of heat flux (Tivey et al, 2016) relative to elevated values in the Pink Terrace hydrothermal system. Both the Pink and White Terrace former site locations we identified, via orientating and scaling the 1863 map, are very close to remains of sinter terrace seen in underwater camera footage (de Ronde et al, 2016a). The White Terrace location is situated west of "Pinnacle Ridge" on the 1863 map.…”

Section: Validation Of the Map Orientation Scale And Suggested Locamentioning

confidence: 71%

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Locating Relict Sinter Terrace Sites at Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand, With Ferdinand von Hochstetter's Legacy Cartography, Historic Maps, and LIDAR

Lorrey

Woolley

2018

Front. Earth Sci.

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Section: Validation Of the Map Orientation Scale And Suggested Locasupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Validation Of the Map Orientation Scale And Suggested Locamentioning

confidence: 71%

Locating Relict Sinter Terrace Sites at Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand, With Ferdinand von Hochstetter's Legacy Cartography, Historic Maps, and LIDAR

Lorrey

Woolley

2018

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…Harding in 1887 mistook this topography and placed the old lake and terraces in the crater, south of the peninsula. This became conventional wisdom until 2011, when the New Zealand-American project placed them even further south in the crater; relying on sonar imagery, which I have suggested was misinterpreted (de Ronde et al, 2016;. Bunn, 2020b.…”

Section: Overlooked Crater Signpostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In following years, the New Zealand-American project moved their Pink Terrace location to a second and a third deeper location; beyond our scuba reach. The new locations were unsupported by their original evidence (de Ronde et al, 2016;. I left the research, to write a book on the subject.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing Rotomahana Basin topography to disclose the lost White Terraces─ New Zealand’s Eighth Wonder of the World

Bunn¹

2023

Preprint

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The greatest geoscience and tourist attractions in the southern hemisphere were the Pink and White Terraces, the lost Eighth Wonder of the World. British, American and European tourists bypassed local calcareous terraces, for the sea voyage to New Zealand where the siliceous terraces astonished a global audience. Their allure remains. In 1886, the Mount Tarawera eruption buried the terraces. They were not officially surveyed, hence no one knew for certain, where they lay. Debate over their survival continued until the 1940s.In 2011, a joint New Zealand-American project claimed to have found the Pink and White Terraces underwater. Recently their claims were refuted. In Europe, terrestrial survey documents were unearthed, including the only compass bearings to the terraces. Ferdinand Hochstetter’s survey records were repatriated and his 1859 survey reconstructed. This spatial analysis reports the White Terraces could have been located after the 1886 eruption, by a competent examination of the Rotomahana Basin. By studying its topography, eruption crater, lakes and river systems; by georeferencing and from indigenous Māori knowledge; the early search and rescue, government and university survey teams; had sufficient topographic evidence for a Chain of Evidence, locating the White Terraces.They also failed to consider water flows into and around the crater. Herein, I trace water flows from the terrace springs. These continued pumping during and after the eruption, creating watercourse evidence from the three terrace springs. These findings are compared with Hochstetter’s survey locations for the Pink, Black and White Terraces. The methodologies agree.This validation, together with a new published altimetry and Black Terraces spatial research, provides layers of evidence for the coordinates of the three terrace springs today. This new body of empirical evidence, together with Hochstetter’s survey reconstruction; revises the historical record for the Rotomahana Basin eruption of 1886.

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“…The authors equate this feature with a pyramidshaped peak (one of several similar peaks) above the old lake, where it can justify their revised terrace locations, providing coordinates linking the old and new lakes. The papers (Keam 2016;de Ronde et al 2016a) cross-cite to establish the pre-eruption photo with the post-eruption Pinnacle. The resulting latitude, longitude and altitude coordinates do not agree with their 2011-2012 terrace locations and these have been revised to fit into this 'pyramidal peak-Pinnacle' hypothesis: unfortunately without evidence beyond an assertion by Keam, cited by de Ronde to justify his revised terrace locations.…”

Section: Comparison With De Ronde Et Al Findings 2011-2016mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic cartography with Hochstetter’s 1859 Pink and White Terraces survey: Te Otukapuarangi and Te Tarata

Bunn

Nolden

2017

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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The 1859 field diaries of Ferdinand von Hochstetter (1829-1884 include raw data from a compass survey of Lake Rotomahana. The azimuth array is reverse engineered to identify Hochstetter's survey baseline. Survey iterations are performed to reconstruct the historic Lake Rotomahana over today's topographic map. Hochstetter's papers include a method-of-squares survey map of Lake Rotomahana, providing scale and orientation to the reverse engineered projection. The forensic cartography delivers control points which enabled the authors to georeference Hochstetter's survey map over the new Lake Rotomahana map. Black Terrace Crater and Te Ariki datum are derived. Validation by waterways, valleys and vegetation lines is undertaken, a biological bathymetry completed and three-point resection performed on the key survey station. The cartography shows the Pink, Black and White Terrace spring locations, Te Otukapuarangi, Te Ngāwhā a Te Tuhi and Te Tarata lie buried on land. From novel lake altimetry the plotted terrace spring locations lie buried 10-15 m. A full archaeological site investigation including imaging and core drilling is indicated to examine the three terrace locations. Excavation on one or more of the Pink, Black and White Terrace sites may then be determined. ARTICLE HISTORY

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The Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana: what was their fate after the 1886 Tarawera Rift eruption?

Cited by 20 publications

References 15 publications

Locating Relict Sinter Terrace Sites at Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand, With Ferdinand von Hochstetter's Legacy Cartography, Historic Maps, and LIDAR

Locating Relict Sinter Terrace Sites at Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand, With Ferdinand von Hochstetter's Legacy Cartography, Historic Maps, and LIDAR

Reconstructing Rotomahana Basin topography to disclose the lost White Terraces─ New Zealand’s Eighth Wonder of the World

Forensic cartography with Hochstetter’s 1859 Pink and White Terraces survey: Te Otukapuarangi and Te Tarata

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