In the beginning of time, the only way humans could travel to unknown lands was by sea. Surprisingly enough, not much of the ocean floor has been explored yet. Check out these pictures of underwater discoveries that have been found. Makes you wonder what hasn’t been discovered yet…
THE LOST CITY OF HERACLEION
Archaeologist Frank Goddio found the remains of this lost and forgotten Egyptian city, and the pictures of the city are stunning.
F4U CORSAIR
The pilot of this World War II plane had to think fast when the aircraft was running out of fuel. His emergency landing saved his life, but unfortunately, not the plane.
MS ZENOBIA
In the 1980s, a massive ferry holding large vehicles sank in Larnaca Bay in Cyprus.
THE UNDERWATER RIVER
What looks like a river at the bottom of the Cenote Angelita Cave is actually an optical illusion of sulfide and saltwater.
USS ORISKANY
This plane fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and is now laid to rest at the bottom of the ocean and was eventually incorporated into a coral reef.
YONAGUNI MONUMENT
The Yonaguni Monument is a massive stone structure off the coast of Japan.
THE GHOST FLEET
This image is from an underwater grave after a bombing near Chuuk Lagoon during World War II.
TRAIN GRAVEYARD
Train cars found off the coast of New Jersey in 1985. Any guesses as to how they got there?
“ANCIENT” CHINESE CITY
This underwater city isn’t as old as it may look: it was purposely sunk in China.
THE TITANIC
This haunting image of the R.M.S. Titanic shows how large the famously “unsinkable” ship was.
USS PRESIDENT COOLIDGE
This ship was destroyed by underwater mines.
SS THISTLEGORM
This British merchant ship’s final resting place is at the bottom of the Red Sea. The photo shows some of the cargo that the ship carried.
IRISH SILVER
This 61-ton discovery of silver bars was discovered in a British ship dated during World War II times. Talk about hidden treasures!!
THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM
This old computing mechanism was believed to predict the pattern of the moon and stars dates back to around 100 BCE.
SCULPTURE PARK
Divers can see these underwater statues off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.
BLACKBEARD’S CANNONS
Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard the pirate, sunk the Queen Anne’s Revenge near North Carolina. This cannon weighs over 3,000 pounds helped sink tons of treasures and artifacts.
Back MANGANESE BALLS
Not necessarily a treasure, but a mystery nonetheless. These manganese balls naturally form on the ocean floor, and scientists are stumped about their purpose.
APOLLO 11 ROCKETS
Sonar technology led to the discovery of this rocket that was believed to be lost forever.
BIG TUB HARBOR
Only ten feet below the surface, this Canadian schooner sunk in Big Tub Harbor in 1885.
LOST CITY OF DVARAKA
The lost city of Dvārakā is a sacred underwater site in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It’s said that its name was chosen by Krishna, a main deity in Hinduism, and dates back about 9,000 years. Many of the city’s structures are still intact to this day.
ULUBURUN SHIPWRECK
The Uluburun shipwreck was found off the coast of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea, and dates all the way back to 1305 BC, making it one of the best-preserved historical findings of all time. Along with the ship, divers found items such as jewelry, copper, gold, silver, pottery, and even what is believed to be the golden seal of Nefertiti.
CHRIST OF THE ABYSS
Christ of the Abyss is a sculpture created by Italian artist Guido Galletti and placed underwater off the coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea in 1954. As you can see, it’s quite haunting, and divers can even swim to it if they dare!
GALLEON SAN JOSE
The Galleon San Jose shipwreck might just be the most expensive find in history. The wreck was found off the coast of Colombia, near Cartagena, and was once a Spanish ship that sank in the 1600s during battle. It was carrying millions of valuable coins and emeralds and is thought to be worth a staggering $17 billion today!
ANCIENT ROMAN MEDICATION
More than 2,000 years ago, a ship named the Relitto del Pozzino sank off the coast of Italy near Tuscany. The wreckage was discovered in the 1980s and contained something pretty remarkable: Tin cans that contained perfectly preserved pills, thought to be some sort of ancient eye medication. The discovery has given historians and scientists alike more of a look at what ancient medicinal practices were like!
UNDERWATER CAVERNS
As if exploring a cave on land wasn’t creepy enough, some brave (and maybe a little crazy) divers have ventured into underwater caves for a whole new level of crippling claustrophobia for the rest of us!
UNDERSEA PYRAMIDS
Using GPS technology, researchers were able to locate two large underwater structures not far off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean. It is believed that these two structures are massive ancient pyramids about 150 feet tall, thousands of feet below the surface. Other than that, not much is known about the pyramids, including how they were even built there in the first place!
THE SHIP OF GOLD
The SS Central America, also known as the “Ship of Gold,” set sail from Panama to New York City in 1857 with 477 passengers and 101 crew members. Six days after the start of the voyage, the ship collided with a hurricane and sank, claiming almost all of the passengers’ lives. The reason for its nickname, the “Ship of Gold,” is because it was carrying with it about 10 tons of gold on the voyage.Pictured is one of the gold ingots found in the wreck.
VASA SHIPWRECK
The Vasa was a Swedish ship that set sail in 1628, but only traveled about 1,400 yards before sinking! The wreck was discovered in the 1950s and gave archaeologists more of a look into a period of history where sea travel became more important. What’s perhaps most impressive is that the majority of the ship is still intact today, including the hull, weapons, cannons, and much more.You can see the ship at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.
ICE FINGER OF DEATH
A brinicle, also known as the “ice finger of death,” is a strange phenomenon during which a hollow column of ice containing brine grows downward toward the ocean floor. Given that this phenomenon requires very specific conditions to form, it is particularly rare and therefore isn’t captured on camera very often!
ZHEMCHUG CANYON
If you thought the Grand Canyon was impressive, just wait till you learn about Zhemchug Canyon, which makes the former look tiny in comparison. Zhemchug Canyon lies in the Bering Strait and is the deepest undersea canyon in the world at a daunting 8,530 feet – which is more than 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon! It’s so deep that no one has ever been able to get close to exploring it in its entirety.Pictured is a skate nursery in the canyon.
