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10 Amazing Facts About Our Oceans

10 Amazing Facts About Our Oceans

Written by Noreen
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Published on January 26, 2011
ocean facts coral underwater

They’re gigantic, blue, and hold unbelievably vast sums of the Earth’s water – they are the oceans. Some of the last places on Earth to be fully understood and explored, our oceans provide plenty of substance for any degree of wonder. Want to know more ocean facts? 

The ocean has been a point of fascination throughout the ages. From the earliest times when people stood by the shore and wondered what was waiting in that vast expanse of water to the present day, the marine world continues to produce one interesting fact about the ocean after another. Here are interesting facts about the ocean that you can daydream about all day.

coral reef conservation underwater life
Photo by Hiroko Yoshii on Unsplash

Incredible Ocean Facts

The majority of the Earth is ocean

Oceans make up about 70% of the planet. These gigantic bodies of water are truly the final frontier for Earth. There is so much that remains a mystery beneath the waves. As scientists and marine biologists study what’s beneath the surface, they only get small snapshots of what it is like down in the depths far below. Imagine if it were possible to see the ocean floors in their entirety!

Oceans are the world’s largest museums

Human artifacts offer another interesting ocean fact. As human beings have traveled the seas throughout time, they have left a great deal of evidence behind. From islands that have succumbed to the sea to the Titanic and the fabled Lost City of Atlantis, the oceans hold more of Earth’s history than can be found on land.

The largest mountain range on Earth is in the ocean

While the mountains on land are impressive, the ocean lays claim to the largest range on the planet. The mid-ocean ridge system is connected and is part of every ocean. At over 80,000 miles in total length, it is a monumental geographic feature.

Only 5% of the oceans have been explored

Researchers discover new life forms on a regular basis when they delve into the ocean’s depths. Ninety-four percent of all life on the planet is actually aquatic, making land dwellers the minority. Only time will tell what will be brought to light next under the sea.

Our oceans are full of salt

Without this salt, our global ecosystems and weather would be of a completely different nature.

Mount Everest is not the world’s tallest mountain

The Earth’s tallest mountain is actually part of Hawaii. This partially submerged super-mountain, Mauna Kea, is 33,465 feet tall. Mount Everest is 29,032 feet tall.

Phytoplankton are critical to the Earth

Phytoplankton are the beginning to all food chain ecosystems of the depths. They are also responsible for approximately 50 percent of the entire globe’s oxygen supply. The loss of these would mean the loss of virtually all else.

The lowest known point on Earth is called the Challenger Deep

It is 36,200 feet deep, in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific. To get an idea of how deep that is, if you could take Mt. Everest and place it at the bottom of the trench there would still be over a mile of ocean above it.

The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy

It separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is 53.4 feet. That’s about the same as a four-story building.