In August 2006 transects of the Chatham Rise and Challenger Plateau were surveyed using NIWA’s Research Vessel Tangaroa high resolution multibeam system. The transects were carefully located to traverse 28 different environmental variables which may influence the distribution and abundance of seabed animals.Much of the area surveyed was soft sediments, except where old volcanic rocks emerged above the sediment to form rocky banks such as Mernoo and Veryan Bank on the Chatham Rise; patches of rough ground on the eastern Chatham Rise near the Chatham Islands and the shallower part of the Challenger Plateau. The survey exceeded expectations providing excellent transect coverage of both areas and additional coverage during transit and a run of good weather. Most transects were multi-beamed twice providing total swath widths of 2 to 5 Km, depending on the water depth. Even though the Chatham Rise is extensively fished, multibeam data has only been collected from limited areas in the past. This survey provides the first extensive coverage of the area. The transects covered on the Challenger Plateau were also new.A vertical profile across Transect 1 on the Chatham Rise shows the depth changes across the rocky Mernoo Bank and the soft-sediment flanks of the Chatham Rise. This is a 2D profile taken along Transect-1 from the north (left) to south (right). Vertical exaggeration is 30x. Colours relate to depth-red is shallow.Unusual blips discovered along Transect 2 on the Veryan Bank show a series of depressions up to 5 m deep in vertical profile at about 570 m water depth. These are likely to be methane seeps from the sea-bed. Shown area is 13km long by 8km wide.