The vast majority of the surface of the world is covered by oceans, but many people do not know much about the vast stretch of water. If you’d like to know a little bit more about the majority of our planet’s surface, here are a few fascinating facts that you may be interested in.
Majority of Life On Earth is in the Water
One of the most interesting facts about the Earth is that the vast majority of living organisms live in the oceans. In fact, as much as 94 percent of all life on Earth is actually residing in the ocean. If you thought that all the people and land animals on the planet were numerous, just think about how much there is underwater.
We Have Explored Very Little
Since we’ve been around on the planet for a long time, you might think that we have explored every bit of it. In reality, the ocean represents a vastly unexplored area of the planet. We have actually only explored less than five percent of the entire ocean. This means that even with so many ships plying the oceans, over 95 percent of the ocean has not been explored by man yet – think about that next time you’re online looking for cruise deals! That is a lot of area that still is yet to be explored. Since it’s all covered by water, it can be very difficult to explore, which is what has prevented us from checking it out as of yet. Many estimate that we have better maps developed of other planets like Mars than we do of our own ocean floor.
Did you know that the biggest mountain range in the world is actually underwater? The Mid-Oceanic Range is the biggest mountain range in the world and it runs approximately 35,000 miles across the ocean. It takes up a big chunk of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The tallest peak is taller than any mountain in the Alps.
Were you aware of giant jellyfish that live in the oceans which can live in many different conditions? Scientists have discovered jellyfish that are as big as 160 feet long. Can you imagine getting stung by one of these jellyfish? One of the most interesting things about these jellyfish is that conditions in which they can live. Many of them have part of their body in very hot temperatures and part in frigid temperatures. For example, they may be in water that is over 350 degrees due to the heat coming out of the surface of the Earth. Another part of their body can be in water that is near freezing without any problems. This makes it possible for these jellyfish to live in areas that other species could not survive in.
One of the main reasons that the majority of the ocean has not yet been explored is because of the difficulty of getting people and equipment down deep into the water. As you go deeper into the ocean, a vast amount of pressure starts to mount. Humans can only go down so far in the water before they are crushed under the pressure of the water. At a certain point, the pressure can also crush the submarines and other equipment that are used to explore underwater.
Marianas Trench has the deepest point in the world. This spot is known as Challenger Deep. How deep is this spot in the ocean. If you had the entire Mt. Everest in the trench, it would still be another mile to the top of the water. That is unbelievably deep and we’re not sure if anyone will ever figure out a way to get down there.