CNBNews

 

Dorothy Philbin l CNBNewsnet Columnist 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

 

 

How many shipwrecks are there on the ocean floor?   It might be a strange question but take a minute and think about it.  How many ships can you name which are sitting at the bottom of the ocean?

 

Everyone knows about the Titanic, "Remember The Maine" (Spanish-American War,) The Hood (WW II British ship sunk by the German ship The Bismark,) then there is the German ship The Bismark, sunk by the British.  As the saying goes, revenge is a dish better served cold.

 

Now finding sunken ships is easier than before.  SONAR, digital archives, and Remotely-Operated Vehicles have all made traveling to the ocean's floor much less dangerous.  So, if you can find the money - you can find a shipwreck.  Don't forget all those ships from the 1400s, 1500s and 1600s believed to be filled with gold and other treasurers.  How about all the ships sunk during wars?

 

The oceans are larger than the land masses on earth.  As a matter of fact, we know more about outer space than we do about our oceans.  Only 19% of the ocean floor has been charted in detail.

 

If your curiosity has been peaked, why not check out is a series of shows on the National Geographic channel where they use computers to roll the back the ocean water and let the audience see what is on the floor.  It is amazing.  Give it a try.

 

Oh, and by the way, there are an estimated 3 million shipwrecks on the sea bottom.