We all know space is exciting and I, personally, can’t wait until we can go to Mars as tourists. However there’s still an entire part of our own planet that have not been thoroughly explored or explained. And that, dear reader, is the ocean. It is estimated that there are more undiscovered species of animals in the ocean than there are discovered species on land.
What’s more — because exploring underwater can be expensive and complicated, there are many, many occurrences that have not been explained by science or properly and thoroughly explored. So, here are 9 mysterious underwater objects that very few people know about.
Titanic
Surely, everyone knows about the Titanic. However there are many little-known facts about the ship and the circumstances of its sinking. For example, did you know that the people in charge of looking out on the ship (for things like, say, icebergs!) couldn’t use binoculars? That’s right! The binoculars were locked away in a cabinet that nobody had the keys to.
Another little-known fact is that all 700 third-class passengers had to share just two bathtubs amongst themselves.
And, finally, the ships main chef, Charles Joughin, was able to survive significantly longer in the cold waters because of the copious amounts of whiskey he drank while cooking the 10-course meal on the evening the ship sank.
Underwater sculpture park
Just off the coast of the island of Grenada there is an underwater museum created by an English sculptor, Jason deCaires Taylor. The first exhibit was placed underwater in 2006, but since then the underwater museum and park has grown. It now consists of more than 65 different items, and is expanding with every passing year.
Although the project is valuable for the artistic endeavor alone, it is also good for the local wildlife ecosystem!
Lost Kingdom Of Cleopatra – Legendary Lost City Of Heracleion
We all know climate change is a problem and rising water levels are a real threat to coastal towns. But rising sea levels aren’t a problem that is unique to our time (although the reasons are). The Egyptian city of Thonis-Heracleion was the port city to Egypt during the times when Cleopatra ruled it. This city is now submerged near Alexandria, in the Aboukir Bay.
The city was buried in the sands of the ocean for 1,200 years, and only thanks to technological advancements were archeologists able to dig it up and piece together clues to discover what the city likely looked like when it was, you know… on the ground and not under the water.
Yonaguni underwater pyramid, Japan
Japan has a long and rich history, but none of the buildings and artifacts in Japan can match up to the Yonaguni pyramid. It was discovered off the coast of the Yonaguni Island in 1987, and to this day it’s unclear why it was built (or how). The best estimates lead scientists to believe that the pyramids were built more than 10,000 years ago. One of the walls of the pyramid goes down 27m underwater.
The Great Blue Hole, Belize
This is the first naturally occurring object on the list. It was discovered in 1971 by Jacques Cousteau and to this day is considered as one of the best sites in the world to go scuba diving.
Shi Cheng underwater city, China
Unlike Heracleion, this entire city was flooded on purpose! Nearly 300,000 people were moved out of the city so that the government could build a dam and a power plant. The entire Zhejiang valley was flooded and the city of She Cheng found itself at the bottom of a lake. 50 years later, many of the walls and wooden structures within the city have managed to remain stable and intact. Somehow the flow of water helps preserve everything instead of corroding it.
Underwater river at the bottom of the Black Sea
This is another naturally occurring wonder, and it’s absolutely incredible. Scientists think that this river is the result of the Marmara sea flowing into the Black Sea. This created a 1km wide, and 35m deep river in the middle of the sea with its own waterfalls. To date, the Black Sea receives more freshwater every year than water that is evaporated. This means that, with time, it’s likely that the salinity of this sea will decrease.
Deepest Underwater Biome
As I’ve mentioned, there are more undiscovered species in our planet’s water than there are discovered species on land. However, a biome that has been discovered has caused scientists to scratch their head for decades.
It’s a common known fact that living organisms can survive without sunlight. Sunlight is the foundation and steppingstone of our entire food chain. Except that there’s a whole biome of creatures living underwater. So deep underwater, that the suns rays have absolutely no chance of reaching them. Instead of using sunlight for nourishment and energy (and photosynthesis), this biome survives on the metals and minerals that erupt from the earth’s core deep, deep underwater.
Underwater Museum, Mexico
Similar to the sculpture park in Grenada, this underwater museum was created by a non-profit organization that aims to save nearby coral leafs. It includes over 500 sunken sculptures and sees a whooping 200,000 visitors every year. And, similarly to the museum in Grenada, the sculptures have become in integral part of the marine life in the area.
