The wonders of the sea are indeed infinite. This is absolutely normal, seeing that there sure is a lot of water on this beautiful planet of ours. In fact, the world is comprised primarily of water—or at least the surface is.
The depths of the ocean hold many areas in which humanity has very little knowledge. To this day, discoveries are still being made, as humanity has only but scratched the surface of that perilous ocean floor. Discoveries in the fields of marine biology and archaeology are still unearthed today and still making news when they are brought to the attention of the world. And through social media, insight and deep interest flourish as everyone who’s interested, tries to get a glimpse of the newest thing to surface.
But what happens when these discoveries only uncover more mystery? What happens when new species from the sea are found? What occurs when the location of an unknown city suddenly appears in the deep dark depths?
In this article we’ll take you all on a journey through the deepest of seas. Some of these places and items you may have already heard of, but you may not know exactly what mysteries go hand in hand with what you’ve already seen. You’ll be surprised to discover that there are more questions than answers out there when dealing with the deep.
So grab the scuba gear and wade carefully, dear readers, because we’re about to get wet and venture forth into the dark waters of the globe.
25 TIRE GRAVEYARD - FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Okay, admittedly, even we know what this is at first glance, so scientists must have been way ahead of us. But at first, who knows what this must have seemed like to the early divers that waded deeply into the waters off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida? Imagine looking down and adjusting your eyes to all the blue and seeing nothing but a bunch of ominously placed circles looking back up at you! Talk about disconcerting.
The location was found again in 2007. Amazing how long rubber can last under water!
The location is known as Osborne Reef and all that the discoverers of the tires needed to do to figure out just what the heck happened there was to look at the old history books. As it turned out, the Reef was an abandoned expansion project gone wrong and abandoned in the 1970s.
24 "NESSIE" / LOCH NESS MONSTER - LOCH NESS, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
For many, the infamous Loch Ness Monster is nothing but a myth; a story to tell the little ones before bed on a dark and stormy night. But for others, especially people who have claimed to see the beast, the story is far more real to them.
According to eye witness reports, the monster of indeterminable length and size was seen and is believed to dwell in the depths of the Loch Ness body of water in the Scottish Highlands. Earliest sightings date back all the way to 1933.
Of course many believe this to be a hoax and scientists claim this to be complete fabrication and hearsay, but the conviction in the eyes of eyewitnesses is rather convincing.
23 THE INFAMOUS "BLACK SMOKERS" - BETWEEN NORWAY & GREENLAND
This must have been a rather unsettling phenomena when divers first came across it. Can you imagine? The jetting of the black smoke-like substance would have been enough to get most people out of there--and in a New York Minute!
But as is the case with many of these discoveries, as the smoke clears (pun intended, thank you very much), and the fear subsides, scientists can better study phenomena like this and come up with what we hope are logical explanations.
As it turns out, this phenomena can be found in the depths of the ocean in between Norway and Greenland, but alas can be found in any part of the sea. As it turns out, these are hypodermic vents near or on the sea floor that shoot out amounts of extremely scalding water into colder water, and they sometimes release magma which looks like black smoke.
22 MYSTERIOUS STATUE OF JESUS - MALTA
Malta is located below Sicily, Italy. Divers located this statue of Jesus near the wreck of a ship. The ship was known as The Imperial Eagle, and it was a ferry ship that went back and forth from Malta to Gozo. The ship was also known as a cargo carrier.
The wreck and the statue themselves can be found within an underwater valley of sorts.
The statue and the wreck were found at only 25 meters below the surface and close by is also an anchor and a tunnel full of coral. It is known to be an excellent site for divers.
21 a MYSTERIOUS BEAST FROM THE DEPTHS - INDONESIA
As we learned with the giant eel found in Texas, not all the sea creature discoveries can be as adorable as our little orange buddy from the deep.
And no, what you're looking at is not a rock formation sticking out of the water!
This one was found in Indonesia. At first people on site thought it to be a species of some sort of sea monster--the stuff of their nightmares and folk tales--but when pictures started making the rounds online, many believed it to be a giant squid. But soon, even these reports were shunned as others stated that it was a sort of Baleen whale.
20 A SPACESHIP IN THE BALTIC SEA?!
Dubbed the Baltic Sea Anomaly after it was discovered under 300 feet of water in 2011, the giant anomaly still baffles the minds of many, and there are still no clear answers as to what it is to this day. Of course many have speculated but still, speculation isn't a definite answer and many have been disturbed by what was uncovered beneath the wavy surface of the Baltic Sea.
It has been reported that right above the exact location of this so-called anomaly, all satellites and electrical equipment fail, cell phones as well.
And to add to the mystery, it is oddly shaped and resembles something out of a Star Wars film. Many have believed it to be proof of extraterrestrial life, but nothing has been etched in stone as of yet.
19 HEDONISTIC ROMAN SYMBOLS - NEAR NAPLES, ITALY
Known as the Baiae Resort near Naples, the site shows divers the wonders that were Ancient Rome. The designs strewn across the ancient floor are rather luminescent in the Mediterranean Sea under the light of day.
In its day, which was approximately year 1 AD, it was known to be the resting place and hangout of the high class portion of society of the time.
It was located on the shores of Naples back then, but it now rests in ruins under the sea.
When discovered, scientists were definitely baffled, but it didn't take them long to deduce what the symbols meant and what era they were from, which were simple designs on a bathhouse floor.
18 UNDERWATER STEAM ENGINE - THE RED SEA
Many divers who have dived into the depths of the Red Sea near Egypt have found the remains of a locomotive steam engine, circa the early portion of the 20th century.
At first, many who stumbled across it could not explain how it got to rest at the bottom of the Pharaoh's Sea. Stumped, they got to work, discovering that this particular engine fell off of the SS Thistlegorm, a cargo boat that coasted through the waters of that Sea. This occurred apparently in 1941.
Many wanting to lay eyes on the site have traveled to the area and the depths of the sea, as the many photos of the engine prove.
17 THE TITANIC ... A RICH HISTORY IN THE DEPTHS OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
And of course, if you're going to be talking about shipwrecks and deep water discoveries, you might as well bring up one of the most talked about shipwrecks of all time.
The Titanic set out on its maiden voyage in 1912 but would sadly sink before reaching its destination. It would be taken down by an iceberg in the wee hours of the morning. The story is well-documented--albeit with a fictitious backstory--in James Cameron's directorial masterpiece from the late 1990s.
But it has been said that over the years, as the Titanic sat on the Ocean floor, it actually moved from where it had once lain. This has been attributed to ocean currents and that is definitely plausible, but many others believe that the boat is in fact a haunted site and the ghosts aboard were responsible for the moving of the downed vessel.
16 ATLIT YAM RUINS - ATLIT, ISRAEL
Considered a submerged Neolithic village under about 8 to 12 meters of ocean water off the coast of Israel, Atlit Yam contains some incredible and mysterious findings. It was discovered back in 1984. A few homes, artifacts and even some unexplained items were found at the location.
Among the unexplained are a ritual site which had a bunch of stones forming a ring around a spring. And of course the item pictured here, which the discoverers of the site figured to be a well, but later findings concluded that it was a mass grave as several human remains were found in the pit.
Not much else is known about the mysterious Atlit Yam.
15 THE GREAT BLUE HOLE - BELIZE
Off the beautiful coast of Belize, a massive blue hole can be seen from satellite shots. The sight is definitely an unsettling one, as the dark blue shape represents unimaginable depths just waiting below the crystalline surface of the water.
It was discovered by famed deep sea diver Jacques Cousteau in 1971.
It's considered a "sinkhole" and if the name frightens you, you have good reason. It is situated at the center of Lighthouse Reef and goes for 318 meters across and 124 meters deep. And yes, 124 meters is only about 1/10th of a kilometer, but when it comes to water, I'd say it's pretty much still frighteningly deep, wouldn't you say?
Sinkholes in general remain one of this Earth's most intriguing natural mysteries.
14 UNDERWATER RIVER - THE BLACK SEA, EURASIA
It doesn't seem possible, but yet there it is, and there have been many that have dived to the depths of the appropriately named Black Sea located in between Europe and Asia. And within its depths is none other than the sight pictured here, a flowing river beneath all the water that makes up the ocean above it.
The river also has trees that are growing along its shores.
This is a question that has stumped scientists for years, but studies have shown that two differing batches of water can commonly be separated depending what those waters consist of and of course the density of each. But enough of the scientific explanation. It's just plain weird and awesome at the same time, isn't it?
13 THE FRILLED SHARK OF THE DEEP SEAS
It may indeed look like a creature from some film depicting the latest in horrific sea creatures, but like we said before, marine biologists are always discovering new sea creature; especially ones that come from deep within the sea.
The Frilled Shark is a species of shark that humans aren't likely to see. In fact seeing one is a gift not granted to many on this earth, as they stay relatively close to the deep portions of the ocean and rarely, if ever, surface.
Who knows what else lurks in those depths. What atrocities or abominations hide within the dark and tumultuous sea?
12 A SAD SIGHT INDEED - EGYPT / THE RED SEA
Over the long years many treasures and mysteries have been found in the depths of the ocean known as The Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. And of course that's understandable, as that particular scene goes way back in the annals of time and even in the earliest books of the Christian bible and Hebrew Torah. It is believed that The Red Sea was once crimson red and all at the bequest of Moses who wanted to free his people from the Pharaoh's rule and oppression.
And probably, one of the saddest sights to lay your eyes upon is this once beautiful British WWII BSA M20 motorcycle atop a downed ship, at least for bike lovers it definitely is.
11 4 000 YEAR OLD SHIPWRECK - TURKEY
Deep sea shipwrecks are by now a dime a dozen, as many ships now rest at the bottoms of many oceans around the world. But for one to have held up for over four millennia is something rather extraordinary.
This particular wreck was found off the coast of Turkey and the wreck itself isn't all that haunts anyone who dares plummet to the depths to gaze upon the relic. But it is the face that sits in wait and stares out at the sea--something it's been doing for 4 000 years--that's rather disconcerting. Enough to give you chills whether in the ocean right alongside the wreck, or at home looking at a photograph like this one.
10 STATUE OF THE NINFEO - NORTHEASTERN COAST OF TUNISIA
The look in the diver's eyes say it all, really. The discovery of something so ancient yet pivotal to the doctrines of history is indeed something to marvel at and many of us can just imagine what such divers go through when discovering something that at one time was thought to be lost forever.
This discovery was made off the western coast of Naples, Italy in December of 2017. Scientists believe that the statue was part of the ancient town of Baiae. The town was submerged about 1 700 years ago when the volcanic currents rushed the water from the coast into the Bay of Naples.
9 A MYSTERIOUS CREATURE - TEXAS CITY, TEXAS
The creature washed ashore on a beach in Texas in 2017. The world and social media was abuzz for weeks with this news and pictures were shared all over the intern. It was practically pandemonium as people wondered if we had just discovered a new species and many others too were frightened at the prospect of it.
At first even scientists called to the scene by a concerned citizen and National Audubon Society social media executive, Preeti Desai were baffled. She posted the photos she snapped when discovering the creature on the beach after the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Finally though, it was identified to be a "fang tooth snake eel" which usually stays under the 300 foot mark of the ocean and is rarely seen.
8 AN ADORABLE SPECIES OF OCTOPUS - PACIFIC OCEAN'S MARIANA TRENCH
And very much in contrast to the poor unfortunate eel we just saw, this little bugger was found in the depths of the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench which is located at about 200 kilometers east of the Mariana Islands.
So many discoveries are made in the depths of the ocean and this little guy is a perfect example. And to think that there are still many, yet to be discovered, species in the water that take up most of the planet is not at all hard to believe, as discoveries such as this one are still being made.
This particular spot in the ocean goes down over 36,000 feet. And this little thing has been appropriately named "Opisthoteuthis adorabilis." And it is adorable, isn't it?
Who knows what other creatures are yet to be discovered.
7 THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
And perhaps one of the greatest mysteries of the open seas lies in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Situated between the coast of Florida, the Island of Bermuda and just northwest of Puerto Rico, the Bermuda Triangle has hosted some of the world's most mysterious of occurrences, or has it?
For years, people around the globe have suspected the location to be the halfway point between this world and another. Many have also speculated that the location is a hotbed of extraterrestrial activity. But despite such reports most of the world now believes that the site and the stories reported are nothing but complete fabrication.
And still, there are a number of believable accounts circling out there, accounts that shouldn't be true but when you read them, the realms of possibility kind of have a way of opening up.
6 A WEE BIT OF "MYTH-BUSTING" IN THE GULF OF ALASKA
Well, this is a photo that has been shared and shared on social media time and time again. There are even videos about this mysterious phenomena and it definitely got the world talking, or should I say "tweeting?"
Many doctored images surfaced on the internet after the original was taken quite a few years ago in the Gulf of Alaska. As you can see in this image, the difference in the water isn't as dramatic and/or drastic as many of the shots shown on the internet would have you believe.
And probably the biggest misconception about this is that it is where the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It isn't. Sorry, friends. As it turns out, it is where a heavy, sediment-laden water source from rivers of a glacial sort pour out into the open ocean in the beautiful Gulf of Alaska.