Who doesn’t enjoy a fact or two?  If only to impress friends at the pub quiz, and these amazing ocean facts will certainly help achieve that.

While compiling these facts about our wonderful oceans I was rather amazed by the sheer numbers involved and how much activity takes place beneath the waves that has huge consequences to life as we know it.  So, sit back, relax and be amazed.

 

  • 94% of life on Earth is aquatic.
  • Only 5% of the world’s oceans have been explored. (Read more here).
  • The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living structure. It measures 2,600km (1615 miles) and can even be seen from the moon.
  • Ocean’s make up over 70% of the Earth’s surface.
  • The deep sea is the largest museum on Earth. There are more artefacts and remnants of history in the ocean than in all the world’s museums combined.  (Please read Great Britain’s long lost city blog and museum learning blog).
  • The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, this covers around 30% of the Earth’s surface.
  • The world’s oceans contain nearly 20 million tons of gold.
  • The deepest known area of the Earth’s oceans is known as the Mariana Trench. It’s deepest point measures 11km, which is a staggering 6.8 miles.
  • About 70% of the oxygen we breath is produced by the oceans.
  • There is up to 60 billion US dollars in sunken treasure sitting at the bottom of the world’s oceans.
  • Oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet.
  • The world’s largest underwater volcano, Tamu Massif, is the size of New Mexico.
  • At the ocean’s deepest point, the water pressure is the equivalent of having 50 jumbo jets piled on top of you.
  • The Atlantic Ocean has the largest coastline.
  • 90% of all volcanic activity occurs in the oceans.
  • The Indian Ocean is the world’s only closed ocean due to it being land locked to its North by the continent of Asia.
  • The highest waterfall on earth is in fact the Denmark Straight Cataract. With 175 million cubic feet (5.0 cubic meters) of water dropping 11,500 feet (3,505 m).
  • The Antarctic ice sheet that forms and melts over the ocean each year is almost twice the size of the United States.

 

So, there you have it, just a snippet of amazing facts about our wonderful and diverse oceans.

Aqualease provide a range of educational based projects and aquariums for the classroom, just contact Aqualease for more info.

 

Aqualease