It occurred back in 2022 during the Luuaeaahikiikekumu leg of the Ocean Exploration Trust's Pacific expedition.

19:07, Tue, May 12, 2026 Updated: 19:11, Tue, May 12, 2026

The shocking discovery was made in 2022.

The shocking discovery was made in 2022. (Image: EVNautilus/YouTube)

A remotely operated vehicle livestreaming scientific research in the depths of the Central Pacific Ocean shocked audiences after capturing footage of what appeared to be a yellow brick road over 1km from the surface.

It occurred back in 2022 during the Luʻuaeaahikiikekumu leg of the Ocean Exploration Trust's Pacific expedition, during which its exploration vessel Nautilus mapped nearly 30,000 square kilometres of seafloor and collected samples in a bid to better understand how ancient volcanoes formed and how various organisms survive among them. During the research, the Nautilus served as a base for the scientists and as a mothership from which tethered, remotely controlled vehicles could be sent deep underwater to explore.

Get the latest news from around the world and more Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

The brick-like appearance is actually due to a natural phenonenon.

The brick-like appearance is actually due to a natural phenonenon. (Image: EVNautilus/YouTube)

These deep-sea trips could be watched like on the trust's YouTube channel, giving viewers at home a stunning glimpse of a rarely explored part of the planet, due to the prohibitively high pressure at lower depths.

One of the vehicles, ROV Hercules, was navigating an underwater mountain north of Hawaiʻi when its camera picked up images that left people on the stream open-mouthed.

It showed what appeared to the untrained to be a paved brick road on the Nootka Seamount, a deep volcanic mountain within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, prompting jokes about discovering the lost city of Atlantis among the research team.

Besides looking like a path laid by human hands, its yellow hue also prompted comparisons to the famous path from Munchkinland to the Emerald City in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was further popularised by the iconic 1939 film adaptation.

But while the sight of what looked like human-made brickwork on the seafloor may have thrilled fans of theories about ancient lost civilisations, according to the trust's experts, there is an entirely scientific explanation, Eco News previously reported.

What appears to be a path of tiles or bricks is actually a "fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock (a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the seabed)", the description on a video showing the phenomenon on the EVNautilus YouTube channel explains.

"The unique 90-degree fractures are likely related to heating and cooling stress from multiple eruptions at this baked margin," it adds.

So though it doesn't appear to be evidence of a human settlement lost to history, it is one of many examples of nature's extraordinary capacity to surprise us.