THE LOST TERRACES.

Evening Star, Issue 11677, 8 February 1902, Page 1

THE LOST TERRACES .

[By a Reobnt < Same the eruption 0I 1886 !■ my Atra to all mention ol my interest was only again Bob Ingte, the guide, with many interesting conversations ject some three months ago.'-"« he told me about the terraces wish to see the scene of ■ the' myself. To gain a correct viewof it. was necessary to dmbtbih© top pf Taskwcra Mountain, which I did at the end of ‘ ■_> last year, and was rewarded for my trouble , by the splendid view and. the knowledge .*1 gained thereby. I was much assisted in study of Nature from the top ol this moon- ; tain by a very strong pair of Yeiss field glasses. The rift in Tarawera Mountain ,- runs from the* old crater in a north-easterly --J direction, while Rotomahana Lake lies in a south-Westerl- direction of the mountain, or.. exactly oooosite to the direction of the Tift, The old crater is still there, although ah *he present time there is no sign of any heat, .jjm steam, or smoke issuing from it, and to intents and purposes it is dead. As whether Lake Rotomahana Hew up at time of the eruption is a question never yet been satisfactorily answered, Imt \ that a crack opened at the oottom of. tup' lake and let the water run out, thereby, be l -., C ing the direct cause of the Tarawera, cannot be doubted, for after eruption there was not a drop of water .i«l in Laie Rotomahana, and it took -b>|l years for this lake to 31 again. It now «p----pears to hare its outlet (if it has any) at ~ •« the east end of uie lake. It has been stated yj? that half the White Terraces were blown away at the time of the eruption, but this' - appears to be merely guesswork. Enough v l|i ash, etc., was thrown from Tarawera to bury the terraces at }east 4ft deep (thus pre- ~;4 serving them from damage), and it is only the action of the water in washing away tins • ~J, covering that is now bringing the terraces again into view. There cannot be any ■ doubt but that the old crater of the Pink Terraces can be seen from a boat, ( and it is more than probable that the crater is svdl sending forth the hot water which origi- ■ nally formed the terraces, for there is no v doubt the water is quite hot at the present time over the place where the terraces lie. , Before the eruption the height of the water in Rotomahana Lake was nearly on a level with that of Tarawera Lake, being connected by a narrow channel, navigable for canoes. The eruption raised a hill fully 12Uit Jiigh between Tarawera and Rotomuhana Lalces; the distance, between Tarawera and Rotomahana Lakes is about half a mile, half of this distance bong high land. ’ The Tarawera Lake never altered its level'; . the level of Rotomahana Lake is now about 100 ft above that of Tarawera. Before the eruption Lake Rotomahaaa’s waters lapped the foot of the terraces. It should not le a very costly matter to again connect Lake ' Rotomahana with Tarawera Lake, thus bringing the former lake down to the level of the latter. It would then be an easy matter to locate the position of the terraces, now that so much of the ash has been washed off by the action of the water, as the lake gradually, although very slowly, rose to its present height. If a small sftirt • were made, iu the way of n canal, the running water, especially in flood time, would soon make a channel for itself, and bring ■ the 1 altos to a level] as the ash is very light ': and soon washes away. If this-were done it should not be a very difficult undertaking to clear the covering of mud and ash off the terraces, using n fire engine to sluice the dirr. out of the pools to avoid damaging the terraces. Even if the terraces weke not eventually found a canal between Tarawera and Rolomahatm would be of Ibe greatest benefit to tourists, who could then boa: from Wairoa, as in the old uays. to tte site of the terraces. It is also passible, if Nature were assisted, to form new terraces if the crater is still sending out hot water. I have often heard it that one of sew Zealand’s best assets was lost w-hen the ter- ‘: races were destroyed. Consider what* a gold mine it would be at tne present time if the , last terraces could be again found! All il.e world would flock to our doors, for the news of the terraces having been destroyed was world-wide. Even the mere fact of slating the probability of their restoration ' would create a great influx of visitors.— ‘New Zealand Times.’