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

Rick Last updated 
image.png
image.png Download

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."