In 2022, during a survey of the Liliʻuokalani Ridge in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), which stretches north of the Hawaiian Islands, the research vessel Nautilus made an unexpected discovery. Scientists spotted a road at the bottom of an ancient dried-up lake, paved with something resembling yellow bricks. PMNM is a U.S. national monument and one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, exceeding the combined area of all national parks in the United States. It consists of a group of small islands and atolls located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
During the expedition aboard the 68-meter Nautilus, the Ocean Exploration Trust team covered about three percent of the PMNM seafloor. Scientists, observing at depths of 1,000 to 3,000 meters, captured on video the moment they discovered the “road to Oz,” a comparison that immediately sprang to mind for the researchers. Some team members even likened what they saw to the “road to Atlantis,” as reported by Science Alert.
Despite the lakebed discovered by the researchers sitting at a depth of around 1,000 meters, it appeared surprisingly dry. The researchers noted that it resembled a baked crust that could be cracked open. In a small area, volcanic rock had fractured in such a way that it looked strikingly like bricks. “The unique 90-degree fractures are likely related to heating and cooling during numerous eruptions,” the scientists suggested. The effects of these processes could easily be mistaken for a path to a beautiful new world, which, unfortunately, is not the case. The Nautilus researchers believe that the discovery of the “brick road” is a sign they are heading in the right direction and may soon learn much more about the hidden geology of our planet.