Ocean Fun Facts
- The first submarine was built in the year 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch scientist, to help exploration underwater and as a method for future combat underwater.
- The largest island in the world is Greenland, having a surface area of 2.17 million km².
- Canada has the longest coastline, which stretches 151,019 miles
- There are to this day 32,000 discovered species of fish.
- The man who was considered the father of oceanography was Matthew Fontaine Maury, a United States Navy officer.
- The overall average temperature of the ocean is 3.5°C.
- The ocean appears blue from space due to the way it refracts sunlight.
- Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon. Hurricanes occur in the western hemisphere, while typhoons occur in the eastern hemisphere.
- Sea foam is caused by wind and waves disturbing the ocean’s surface, churning up tiny particles suspended in the water.
- The highest tides, 11.7 meters, happen at the Bay of Fundy, Canada.
- The warmest ocean in the world is the Indian Ocean, from 66°F (19°C) to 86°F (30°C).
- People who study fish are called Ichthyologists. The science of Ichthyology was started in the 18th century.
- The largest fish in the world is the Whale Shark, which weighs around 9 tonnes, and the fastest fish in the world is the Black Marlin, which moves up to 30 miles per hour.
- The slowest fish is the Dwarf Seahorse, which moves at max 5 feet (1.5 m) per hour.
- The smallest crab in the world is the Pea Crab, measuring at around 2.54 cm across.
- The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is the longest belt of seaweed in the world, stretching 8850 km in length.
