People think of space as the final frontier, but most of the world’s Oceans remain unexplored. It’s no wonder there are so many mysteries surrounding the oceans of planet earth. Some are natural phenomenon studied by scientists, while others are all about long lost pirate gold searched for by modern day treasure hunters. Here are ten unsolved ocean mysteries.
What Happened To Bermeja Island?
It’s unnown when Bermeja island was discovered. It first appeared on maps in the 16th century, just off the Mexican coast. But in a 1997 survey of the area, Bermeja was not found. An even more extensive survey also failed to find the island a decade later. It’s now accepted the island doesn’t exist – but the real question is whether it ever did exist. Either cartographers of the past simply made a mistake, or the island disappeared. American maps also included the island and at one point there was even a dispute over which nation owned Bermeja.
Globsters
A globster is a blob of organic material. They wash up on shorelines, and are made of unidentified materials, but often turn out to be decomposing whale corpses. Many globsters have been misidentified as monsters or dinosaurs thought to be extinct. The Tasmanian globster was labelled a Sea monster on it’s discovery in 1960 – but was later identified as a whale carcass. A 55 foot globster washed ashore Scotland’s Stronsay island in 1808. It was believed to be a new species of giant Sea-serpant, with some scientists believing it to be a plesiosaur. IT was depicted in the same way as the Loch Ness monster often was. Still today we don’t know what it actually was, as it didn’t match any known animals in the area.
Who Were The Sea Peoples?
Around the year 1200 BC, civilizations in the middle-East suddenly collapsed. This event is known as the bronze-age collapse. Records from the time don’t give a clear explanation of why these long-established empires fell, but they all mention the Sea Peoples. The Sea Peoples were a confederation of different groups who raided coastal settlements leading up to the period. It’s said they were a mysterious and primitive people, who caused the collapse of these civilizations. But we don’t know who they were, where they came from, or where they went. According to sources, they came from the sea, conquered all empires, and mysteriously disappeared.
Milky Seas
For all of recorded history, sailors have reported the waters below them lighting up, glowing brightly. And for most of history this was considered baseless superstition. And so it’s made it’s way into folklore an mythologies all over the globe. But we now know this really can happen. Satellite images show that parts of the ocean really can glow brightly. The phenomenon is known as milky seas. They are quite rare, and no one knows what causes them. Many believe they are caused by massive colonies of bacteria, which happen to be bio luminescent. But others propose supernatural explanations.
The Treasure of Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte was a French pirate, who made a fortune attacking and looting ships in the Gulf of Mexico. As he gained more and more wealth, others joined him – and they say he at one point commanded a fleet of 50 ships. They also say he was the most wealthy pirate in the world, but he was too ambitious, attacking two heavily armed Spanish warships in 1823. It was a battle he quickly lost and is thought to have died of his wounds shortly after, although legend is he lived in Colombia for many more years. The real mystery is the location of his fortune, which some estimate to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. According to legend, it’s buried somewhere underwater close to New Orleans.
Giant Octopus – Is It Real?
Countless ancient legends tell of giant octopus monsters attacking sailors, often destroying entire ships. Interest in it flared up in the `19th century, when Norwegian whalers recorded encounters with them. Some globsters of the time were mistaken for giant octopus. I think today we can assume it doesn’t exist. But it might have existed at one time. When a fossil was found in the shape of a tentacle imprint, some scientists were convinced it must have been made by some kind of giant octopus. According to professor Mark McMenamin, it could have been almost 100 feet long.
Flor de La Mar
Flor de La Mar means “Flower of the sea” – it’s the name of a Portuguese ship that disappeared in the 16th century. By some accounts it sank in 1511. Sinking with it was a significant fortune of gold and currency. If legend is to be believed, the ship contained 60 tons of gold. Modern treasure hunters have put huge effort into finding the shipwreck. But, of course, all attempts have failed. The treasure on board was a gift to the Portuguese king from the king of Siam, which is modern day Thailand. The ship had been declared unsafe for voyage, but it’s crew ignored that warning. They assumed it would be safe for travel… it wasn’t.
Bimini Road
In the Bahamas is an underwater formation called Bimini road. It has the appearance of a man-made pathway, and each stone is aligned in geometric patterns. However, there is no real evidence it was man-made. scientists mostly believe it to be natural formation. In the 1920s, an American psychic predicted it’s discovery. He said that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968, just off the coast of Bimini island. That is the exact place and date of the Bimini road’s discovery. Was his prediction just a coincidence, or is Bimini road what remains of Atlantis? No one knows how old the stones are.
Sea Smoke
This one isn’t even a mystery but I wanted to include it anyway because it is interesting. Sea Smoke is formed when slow moving wind of 2 temperatures passes over warmer water. This causes vapor to rise as if smoke is emerging from the ocean. As you’ll see from the image above, it can be nothing short of cinematic. We can only imagine how many ships have been wrecked because of thick sea smoke. Last week this huge wall of sea smoke appeared over lake superior. It was hundreds of feet high and frankly reminds me of the day after tomorrow.
Flood Narrative – Did It Really Happen?
One of my main interests in comparative mythology. Cultures all over the world share common archetypes in their fables ad legends. One of the most common is the narrative of a great flood – a flood that destroyed all civilization, leaving humans to start all over again. The tale of Noah’s ark is just one example. Floods were usually sent be the gods t cleanse the world of evil. Some believe there is some truth passed down in these stories. That there really was a great civilization brought to it’s knees by a flood, which we have since forgotten about. At one time sea levels were much lower. Areas that may have been settled by humans are now at the bottom of the sea. A civilization could possibly have been swept away by rising sea levels. There is an ancient Indian city called Dwarka. Thanks to rising sea levels, Dwarka is now in ruins and underwater. It is possible for that to happen to entire civilizations. The flood narrative seen in almost all mythologies may hold some truth. Our ancestors may have chosen stories to pass that truth down to us.
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