Did you know that humans have explored outer space more than our own ocean floor? There are so many things hidden right under our noses and all we have to do is take a deep breath – no, more air! – and dive right under the surface. Sometimes that’s all it takes, and over the years, divers have uncovered some of the most shocking underwater scenes, artifacts and bizarre creatures out there.
1. Submerged Stonehenge
A weird stone formation sits deep on the bottom of Lake Michigan. Nobody really knows what it is, what it’s for and if it has any connection to its British look-a-like. One of the pillars even has a picture of an animal that has been extinct for over 10,000 years. More questions than there are answers!
2. A Sculpture Park of Terror
Start singing “Under the sea” from “Little Mermaid” while you’re diving to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea to check out what might be the creepiest place on earth. Over 500 statues will be staring at you, and if you know anything about the Weeping Angels – you’ll know better not to turn around, look away or even BLINK!
3. An Ancient Drowned City
Sorry, I gotta say it right away: Atlantis is not on this list (because it doesn’t exist). This is an underwater city in China’s Qiandao Lake. Curious thing about it is that the lake itself was created by a construction company in order to build a hydro-power plant in the 50’s. And so the 1300-year-old city was drowned and forgotten. What a waste.
4. Sunken World War II Silver
A real treasure hunt! Over 60 tons of werewolf-slaying precious metal was found on a sunken British cargo ship by researchers off the coast of Ireland. Now, this may not be the pot of gold on the other end of the rainbow (because Ireland, Leprechauns…you know) but it’s still a damn good find.
5. Locomotives From Another Dimension? 30 years ago a bunch of locomotives from 1850s were found at the bottom of the ocean and to this day nobody knows how they got there. I’m not saying aliens, but… Aliens.
6. A Japanese Monument
Yonaguni Monument has been sitting on the ocean floor a few miles off the coast of Japan for over 5000 years now. Some people believe it to be a natural phenomenon, while others think it’s a man-made artifact. I personally don’t see how this thing is anything but man-made, but hey, it’s just me.
7. Underwater Rivers
Did you know that when fresh and salty water mix together, under the right conditions you can get actual rivers running underwater? The underwater water! Are there fish in those rivers? And if so, are the fish considered to be river or ocean fish? So many stupid questions but someone has to ask them!
8. Sinkholes
Besides being a PG version of the word “a@@hole”, sinkholes are pretty neat! Terrifying but fascinating at the same time. You’ve probably seen some of the land ones but did you ever think that they can also appear on the ocean floor? Now, how they are formed deserves a geology thesis or at least someone who can tell stalagmites and stalactites apart, so just know that at any given moment the ground beneath you can swallow you whole, because of water, chemicals, time, and bureaucracy. Yeah, that last one is the most disastrous.
9. Spiders
Oh, yeah, almost forgot about #9 – spiders! Yup, the nopes are conquering the underwater world one pond at a time. How? Well, some species evolved to a point where they create air pockets on their webs so they can breathe down under. Happy skinny dipping!
