THE ROTOMAHANA TERRACES

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5475, 21 February 1910, Page 3

THE ROTOMAHANA TERRACES

o SCHEME OK RECOVERY. (l'er Press Association.) Eotobua, Feb. 21. The project that has been mooted mora than once before is being seri ously discussed again, namely, the possibility of recovering the famous terraces at Eotomahana. Guide Warbrick stoutly maintains that they were never destroyed, but simply buried, basing his belief on the fact that he has searched the whole of the ground in the neighbourhood of the lake and never found a fragment of terrace formation. Since the eruption in June, 1886, Eotomahana has filled up to nearly twenty times its original size and it is now more than 100 ft. above its former level. There is no outlet Slid it ia still risiojj «n<3 another few feet will cause it to overflow into its old channel, which would soon be scoured out. 'ihe idea is to hasten this process by giving it a start by makiug a cut in the topmost layer of the terraces, which was originally 70 or 80 feet above the water, and is, therefore, now submerged. Twenty to 30 feet above this is a deposit of mud, but this, it is believed, could be shovelled or washed into tho lake without great labour. If the terrace 3 still exist the lowering "of tho water, it is fcfidly hoped, will bring them to light again On the other hand one authority, at least, btlieves that if not destroyed in the eruption the steam confined below will by this time have converted the siliceous formation into a pulp and destroyed the beautiful contours of these famous beauty spot-. Believers in their existence combat this theory and contend that the formation was much too hard to be injured by steam.