Scientists Have Discovered A Yellow Brick Road On The Floor Of The Pacific Ocean.
In 2022, an expedition to the mid-ocean ridge north of the Hawaiian Islands made a startling discovery: an ancient dry lake bed paved with what resembled a yellow brick road.
The strange sight was discovered by the expedition ship Nautilus while surveying the Liliuokalani Ridge within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).
Manitoba National Park is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, larger than all the U.S. national parks combined, but only about 3% of its seafloor has been explored.
Researchers with the Ocean Exploration Trust are expanding the boundaries of this wilderness, which lies more than 3,000 meters below the waves, and the best part is that anyone can witness the exploration.
In April 2022, a fascinating expedition video was posted on YouTube, capturing the moment when researchers operating a deep-sea submersible stumbled upon the road to Oz.
“It’s the road to Atlantis!” screamed one researcher over the radio.
“Yellow brick road?” another voice replied.
“How bizarre!” another team member added.
“Really? That’s crazy!”
Despite being located about 1,000 meters below sea level, the lake bottom that researchers discovered at the top of Nootka Mountain was surprisingly dry.
Over the radio, the team noticed that the Earth appeared to be a “baked crust” that could break apart.
In a small area, the volcanic rock had broken into striking brick shapes.
“The unique 90-degree cracks are likely related to heating and cooling stresses caused by multiple explosions on this baked rim,” the YouTube video description reads.
At first glance, some might mistake this for a road to a brave new world. In a way, that’s not entirely wrong.
Following the brick road showed that we were on the right track, and that we would soon learn more about the Earth’s hidden geology.
