Video footage of what's believed to be the Pink Terraces has been shown for the first time.
The discovery was made at 68 metres below the surface of Lake Rotomahana - exactly where scientists believed the terraces to be.
The terraced structure discovery is believed to be the Pink Terraces, 133 years after the eruption of Mount Tarawera sank them under Lake Rotomahana.
They were once billed as the eighth wonder of the world, attracting tourists from across the globe. They were formed over 500 years ago as water flowed from boiling geysers and cooled and crystallised into the terraces and pools.
Their disappearance left behind many unanswered questions.
Spencer Stoner, the producer of TV series Beneath New Zealand, told Newshub: "There's a lot a talk about them you know, were they destroyed completely, were they buried, what happened to them?"
GNS scientist Dr Cornel de Ronde has been researching the terraces for years, and his findings caught the attention of the documentary makers.
"He stuck a stills camera down under the water and saw some silica formations that looked oddly like what you might expect to see if the terraces were still down there," Stoner said.
This prompted further investigation, and an underwater drone was used to investigate the floor of Lake Rotomahana for the first time.
"There's so much water, the lake is so deep, you couldn't just go out there and put on a snorkel mask and find them," Stoner said.
While the experts were out, they also found other interesting structures.
But the greatest of all is the Pink Terraces.
"I think it's going to put a lot of people's questions to rest," said Stoner.
It also raises many more for the scientists before they can prove their theory once and for all.
Newshub.
