The ocean is quite literally a sea of endless wonders. With its waters coving over three-fourths of our planet, the ocean seems to go on for an eternity in all directions. Looking out into the horizon reveals waters that never end which is intimidating enough. What’s even more daunting is seeing and understanding the true depths of the ocean. It stretches so far down that we have never come close to exploring even a fraction of its deep waters. In fact, we have rarely seen the ocean’s floor beds, but when we have, it has revealed some of the most incredible discoveries one can imagine.
Lost Mahabalipuram Pagodas.
An amazing lost city off the coast of India joins our list, but it’s the discovery that is more remarkable than the city itself. The Lost Pagodas was long considered a myth by many because of the lack of scientific evidence of its existence, but in 2004, when the infamous Indian Ocean tsunami hit, taking hundreds of thousands of lives, for a brief moment, when the waters parted, large rock-like structures emerged from the water and were witnessed by many onlookers.
Thereafter, expeditions to find out more led to the discovery of the Lost Mahabalipuram Pagodas in India, making it an incredible discovery in both what it yielded as well as how it was found.
Antikythera Mechanism
This artifact gets its name because of the location where it was discovered. This mechanism was found off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera and is believed to be associated with the ancient Greek civilization. The device was found among the wreckage of a ship and experts believe it was designed thousands of years ago by Greek scientists as a mechanism for measuring astrological occurrences as well as a calendar that would have been considered far ahead of its time based on the advanced nature of its accuracy.
Fangtooth Fish
The fangtooth fish, getting its name from its teeth, has been popularized by the film Finding Nemo, and is definitely a scary sight to see. The fish lives in the deep sea, sometimes as far down as 16,000 feet where no light from the sun reaches, making them one of the deepest living fish in the world. The appearance of the fangtooth fish is intimidating as its large head and fang-like teeth protrude from its mouth so much that it is unable to close its mouth.
Giant Underwater Pyramids
Off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean is an anomaly that experts have been unable to fully understand or explain. Picked up by oceanic GPS technology, measurements of a structure were found, leading researchers to believe that two giant pyramids of ancient times sit underwater thousands of feet below the surface. The GPS data received back has the structures with a base of 8,000 square feet and about 150 feet tall, making these pyramids pretty giant in size, although with very little explanation into their existence, leaving it all entirely up to speculation.
The Titanic
Very likely the most famous and well-known underwater discovery of all time is the Titanic. It is one of the most well-documented ship failures in human history and has spawned countless references in pop culture including one of the most successful movies of all time of the same name.
The Titanic sank over a century ago after striking a giant iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on its voyage from Europe to New York City, resulting in one of the largest oceanic catastrophes in history, with the death total reaching 1,500. The wreckage was found in 1985, seven decades after sinking with the ship splitting in two. The expedition to find the ship was an especially difficult one considering it sank 12,000 feet and the water pressure at such depths is extremely dangerous. The two pieces of the ship, the bow and the stem were found a third of a mile apart from one another as they sunk at high speeds going in different directions.
The ship yielded incredible discoveries with so much of what was inside the ship still intact, giving researchers a glimpse into the decadence and luxury that the Titanic once held.
Ice Finger of Death
Brinicles, which are better known for their common term, the ice finger of death, are incredible natural phenomena that are found at the bottom of the ocean. Caused by a freezing process involving the ocean’s salt only underneath giant blocks of ice floating at sea, brinicles get their more popular name from their intimidating appearance.
Very rarely ever captured on camera because of the specific conditions needed for this phenomenon to occur, the ice finger of death looks like a water tornado made up of ice, which actually freezes the water around it as the funnel spins and picks up water creatures in its path.
Galleon San Jose
Considered quite possibly the most financially valuable discovery in history, the Galleon San Jose shipwreck off the coast of Colombia near the city of Cartagena, was estimated to be worth about $17 billion!
This Spanish ship sank during battle at the turn of the 17th century and was carrying millions of gold and silver coins along with emeralds. There has been a nearly four decades long battle between the founders of the ship and the Colombian government over the rightful owner of the treasures.
River at the Bottom of the Black Sea
It may be hard to visualize, but it is entirely possible for an ocean to contain a river. It’s a difficult concept to grasp, but it’s quite literally the same as any river one would see on land.
The Black Sea contains a river at the bottom of its bed, full with trees, leaves, river banks, waterfalls, sedimentary and flowing waters. The river is exceptional considering it would be the sixth largest in the world if it met the official definition.
A 2,000-year-old computer
Today, computers are ubiquitous, but a few thousand years ago, they were pretty hard to come by. The oldest known computer was discovered among a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea off the Greek island Antikythera. A group of fisherman made the find around the turn of the 20th century. The rusted over device, possibly invented between 200 and 70 BC, was finally excavated in 1902 and is now known as the Antikythera Mechanism.
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