20 Photos That Lift the Curtain on the Mysteries of the Ocean Depths (21 photos)

The ocean can be serenely calm, but in the blink of an eye it becomes as inescapable as fate itself, and incredibly frightening.





Water covers most of our planet, but a significant portion of its depths remains unexplored. Despite all our latest and ever-evolving technologies, the seas hold many mysteries that we have only just begun to unravel. It is this mystery that draws us like a magnet and makes certain moments captured in the depths so simultaneously ominous and captivating. These strange discoveries and curious images remind us how little control we have over nature.

1. The wreck of the sailing ship Arden Craig, 1911, photo by Francis James F.J. Mortimer



2. A leopard seal about to eat a penguin





3. Female sperm whales secrete milk into the water to feed their young their young



The structure of the babies' mouths does not allow them to feed in the usual way.

4. Goblin Shark



Also known as the goblin shark, this deep-sea shark is the only representative of the goblin shark genus.

5. Speckled Stargazer



6. Giant Squid



A monster straight out of a Kraken tale, the giant squid is a predator that can reach 13 meters in length. It feeds by grasping its prey with its suckers and tearing it apart with its powerful beak and saw-like tongue.

7. A whale shark holds a school of remora fish in its mouth.



The fish attach themselves to the inside of the whale sharks' mouths, providing protection from predators and access to food. Because whale sharks are filter feeders, tons of water containing small fish pass through their mouths.

8. Anemone Porcelain Crab in the Philippines



9. View of a storm from a ship



10. Stormy seas in Iceland, photo by Arnar Kristjansson



11. Indonesian Seascape



12. The color and structure of this wave are simply incredible.



13. Octopus Wonderpus



A small, colorful cephalopod found in the waters of the Indo-Pacific region. Known for its vibrant orange-brown coloration and white stripes, it mimics predators and changes shape to avoid danger.

14. Storm Poseidon in Brittany, photographed by Mathieu Rivrin



15. Lighthouse on the island of Muro in Santander, Spain



16. Square Waves



A rare natural phenomenon in which waves intersect at an angle, forming a grid on the water's surface, visually resembling a checkerboard.

17. Meeting a sleeping sperm whale



18. A baby dolphin rides on its mother's back



19. A nearly 400-year-old Greenland shark plies the waters of the Arctic Ocean



20. A very rare blue lobster, the odds of catching it are 1 in 2 million.