Page 169 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

THE STEEL-BLUE WAVES of the open ocean
conceal an extraordinary landscape, where

the continents plunge down to a vast,

undulating, muddy plain. Here, the ocean
water column supports layer upon layer of

life, from the surface zone, powered by

sunlight, to the crushing pressure of the

darkest depths. In places, the abyssal plain

is broken by underwater volcanoes or by
mountain ranges high enough to rival the

Himalayas. Springs of super-hot water

emerge from these mountainsides,
supporting living communities unlike any

others on the planet. Elsewhere, Earth’s

vast tectonic plates collide, ripping trenches

in the ocean floor and stimulating powerful

earthquakes. Yet fewer people have
explored these mysterious depths than

have flown in space.

THE OPEN OCEAN
AND OCEAN FLOOR

BENEATH THE WAVES
In the deepest ocean, an underwater Mount
Everest could be hidden beneath these
waves—and still leave plenty of space to put
the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building)
on top. As a result, we have better maps of
the Moon than of the deep seabed.