This Infographic Shows How Much of the Ocean We Don't See

Rick
Rick
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by Randall Munroe on June 16, 2016, from TwistedSifter Website


Deep below the ocean's surface is a mysterious world that takes up 95% of Earth's living space and we know very little about it.

The Deep Sea | Smithsonian Ocean
 
In this fascinating infographic by XKCD's Randall Munroe, we get a newfound appreciation for the staggering depths of our oceans.

The graphic is littered with incredible factoids and witty remarks and provides a great overview of all the details, but here are a few of my personal favorites:

  • Lake Baikal is located in Russia and Mongolia, and is the world's deepest lake
  • Sperm whales can dive as deep as 3000 meters
  • The mid-ocean ridge is an underwater mountain range which could be considered the largest mountain range in the world
  • "The abyss" with its sub-label of "it's rude to stare" is a reference to the Friedrich Nietzsche quote, "when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back"

If you ever wondered what XKCD means, Munroe explains:

"It's not actually an acronym.

It's just a word with no phonetic pronunciation - a treasured and carefully guarded point in the space of four-character strings."