An expedition to a deep-sea ridge just north of the Hawaiian Islands has found an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with a yellow brick road.
The Liliuokalani ridge is within the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument.
The PMNM is one of the largest marine conservancies in the world, larger than all the national parks in the United States combined, and we've only explored about 3% of its seafloor.
The Ocean Exploration Trust is pushing the frontiers of this wilderness and anyone can watch the exploration.
The moment researchers stumbled upon the road to Oz is captured in a highlight reel.
A researcher on the radio said it was the road to Atlantis.
Another voice asked if it was the yellow brick road.
Another member of the team said it was strange.
Do you think you're kidding me? This is insane.
The lake bed found on the summit of the Nootka seamount is surprisingly dry despite being under a thousand meters of ocean.
The ground looks like it could be peeled off.
The volcanic rock has splintered in a way that resembles bricks.
The caption to the video says the 90-degree fractures are likely related to heating and cooling stress from multiple eruptions.
The effect is easy to see as a path to a wonderful new world. That's not completely incorrect.
We could learn a lot more about Earth's hidden geology if we follow the brick road.
You can find more about the expedition here.
The first version of this article was published in May of 1992.
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