15 Amazing Underwater Structures

Over the last few million years, the world's oceans have shifted and risen, engulfing wonders of both natural and man-made origin. What kind of mysteries and treasures lie in the deepest depths of the ocean? Today, we're going to find out. Here are the top 15 most amazing underwater structures. Number 15. Museo Atlantico Underwater Museum. Sitting in the crystal-clear waters of the Atlantic seabed at 12 meters deep is the world's first underwater museum, the Museo Atlantico. You can visit this undersea exhibit found off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain, which is composed of more than 200 life-size human sculptures placed in a circular formation. But then how are the sculptures able to exist in the water without being damaged? Well, they're all crafted from a special pH-neutral cement, so they're built to last. The museum sits in an area called Bahía de las Coloradas, and has become both a tourist site and cultural attraction since its construction in 2017. The museum is only accessible by diving. The amazing museum covers about 2,500 square meters and even serves a more eco-friendly purpose, as the structures act as a new home for local marine life, which will encourage them to reproduce and flourish in a protected space. Number 14. Yonaguni Monument, Japan. In 1985, in the oceans surrounding Japan, a group of divers found something unexpected, to say the least. Instead of a school of fish, an octopus, or even a shark, they found the ruins of the Yonaguni Monument. This structure has sparked some serious debates among scientists, but the marine geologist at the University of Ryukyu in Japan, Masaaki Kimura, has said that it's the Japanese equivalent of the lost city of Atlantis. It is a well-known fact that the island nation of Japan is susceptible to earthquakes and has suffered some major ones in the past, so the case of Yonaguni is no different. According to Masaaki Kimura, the Yonaguni Monument was once part of an ancient city that fell victim to one such earthquake about 2,000 years ago and sank into the ocean. But Kimura's theory has sparked some debate among scientists and researchers, many of whom believe the structure isn't man-made, but a natural formation. But with so many layers, hard edges, and what look like staircases, that may be hard to believe. Number 13. Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park Grenada is an island in the West Indies of the Caribbean, and a major tourist destination known for its white sandy beaches and tropical waves. But just 25 feet below the surface is the Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park. Created by Jason Beckerz Taylor, there are 68 diverse sculptures to swim amongst, and because it's in such a shallow water, you won't need heavy scuba gear to enjoy it. Snorkelers are always welcome here. Visitors are greeted by human figures that look like they've formed their very own undersea town since 2006. From people riding bicycles to sitting at a work desk to automobiles, it's as close to a living underwater town as you'll get. The Grenada Sculpture Park is open to the public with a meager admission fee of just one US dollar, and all fees go towards the park's conservation. Number 12. Shicheng China has an incredibly rich history with dynasties dating back to the Bronze Age, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when relics of the past once thought lost make themselves known again. In the waters of the Qiandao Lake in China is one of the most breathtaking and oldest ruins in the world. The sunken city of Shicheng, translating to Lion City in English, was surprisingly and intentionally flooded in 1959 by the local government in order to make way for a hydroelectric powered dam. But the sinking of the city made for an all-new way to experience its wonders. Shicheng earned the name because it was surrounded by the Five Lion Mountains, and much of the temples, monuments, and intricately laid detailed carvings have been almost perfectly preserved. The city, which dates all the way back to the 2nd century, now sits between 85 and 131 feet below the surface, and you can be sure it's become a popular diving attraction. Number 11. Cleopatra's Alexandria. Scientists and archaeologists believe that Cleopatra's once vast Egyptian empire sank into the sea because of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami. It had been lost for over 1600 years until it was finally discovered in 1998 by a French archaeologist, Frank Goddio, and has become one of the most popular excavation sites in the world, and it's easy to see why. While the entire city was submerged, the artifacts and architecture have remained largely intact. Plenty of discoveries have been made since Goddio's discovery, like the palace foundation, the red granite columns, shipwrecks, statues of the goddess Isis, and sphinxes. The site is also open to divers and sits just 5 to 8 meters below the surface, and although there's still much to be discovered, visibility in the area is quite bad, so unless you're going there with the best undersea technology, chances are you'll come up empty-handed. Number 10. Lake Michigan Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a famous historical site in England and a world-renowned tourist attraction. It's the only place like it in the world, right? Wrong. We're sure there were plenty of strange finds under the murky waters of Lake Michigan, but no one was prepared for this. In 2007, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan College, Mark Holley, found another stonehenge right in his backyard. He found a series of strange stones 40 feet below the lake's surface, all arranged in a circle, and while very little is known about these underwater structures, one stone in particular had a carving of a mastodon engraved on it. Mastodons went extinct about 10,000 years ago, meaning this U.S. stonehenge likely dates back that far. To this day, no one knows exactly what these stone circles are or who put them there. Number 9. The Sunken City of Dwarka. Another lost underwater city on the list, the sunken city of Dwarka has been 100% confirmed as real. One of the best and most studied sites in India, it's considered as one of the four dharmas or sacred places of pilgrimage in the Hindu religion. In Sanskrit, Dwarka translates to the city of heaven, and according to the literature, is the city founded by Lord Krishna. Dwarka is found on the coast of northwest India and dates back 9,000 years. That's 4,000 years older than the known Indian civilization itself. The city of Dwarka is accessible to divers at 36 meters below the surface, and they'll be treated to the sunken city's magnificent architecture, much of which is still intact. There are plenty of archways, staircases, Hindu shrines, and statues of lions and bulls that are now home to many of the ocean's creatures. We're constantly adding more people to the Top 5's production team to bring you all the best content. Be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button. Number 8. Baltic Sea Anomaly. This next amazing underwater structure has baffled scientists and archaeologists alike for nearly a decade. In the summer of 2012, Swedish treasure hunters began traversing the deep waters of the Baltic Sea, and they found something in the seabed. The thing is, nobody has been able to identify it since. It looks like something from a science fiction film come to life. Theories have since run rampant on the internet about what's been dubbed the Baltic Sea Anomaly, with the most popular claim being that it's a crashed UFO. The Swedish-based OceanX team was taken to task to identify just what it could be, but they're still unsure. One more realistic theory says that it could be something as simple as a glacial deposit or a meteorite, but the head of the team, Peter Lindberg, has a more fun and more mysterious theory. He stated that there is in fact a large stair formation which leads to the possibility that it could be man-made. If that's true, then the Baltic Sea Anomaly could very well be another sunken and lost city similar to Atlantis, and if that's the case, then this once city has to be tens of thousands of years old. Number 7. The Ice Fingers of Death. Back in the 1960s, scientists found some pretty strange looking things coming up from the cracks in the depths of the icy seabed. What looks like a sea monster's fingers reaching up from the ground to snatch you are really just brinicles, which are icicles made from brine. The brinicles, which have become known as the Ice Fingers of Death, occur when the saline water, which is denser than the water that surrounds it, sinks to the ocean floor and freezes in the fresher water it comes into contact with. The brinicle sinks down to the seabed and any sea creatures that may come into contact with it along the way falls into its clutches, freezing it inside, giving it its spooky nickname. Some sea creatures commonly caught by the fingers are sea urchins and starfish, and to make things even more interesting, scientists believe that these brinicles may be able to maintain conditions capable of sustaining life on other planets and moons, adding to the already otherworldly aspect of the Earth's oceans. Number 6. The Lost Villages of Ontario. Here we have another example of a city that was intentionally submerged by the local government. Moving over to Canada is the Lost Village of Ontario. Nine communities were intentionally and permanently submerged underwater in 1958 to create the St. Lawrence Seaway. While the members of the community received money to relocate, it unfortunately wasn't enough for many to thrive on once they left. The purpose of the St. Lawrence Seaway is to make the waterways deeper, giving boats easier access to ports along the Great Lakes. It would also generate hydropower for more affordable electricity. While the history of the seaway is a somewhat tragic one, the underwater site remains a popular dive destination under the care of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. Number 5. Port Royal Pirate City. Once known as the most wicked city in the world, Port Royal, Jamaica was the top destination for seafarers and pirates alike to get their rocks off, enjoy a bottle of the strongest rum at the time, and count their coin. But in 1692, an incredible 7.5 magnitude earthquake swallowed the city. Because much of it was built on sand, it sunk 40 feet underwater. At the time, many saw the city's destruction as a kind of divine retribution for the gathering of scum and villainy, but today it's an important relic of history. Exploration began in 1950, and many artifacts and buildings have remained intact, giving archaeologists a brief glimpse into the debaucherous life of Port Royal's citizens. In 1999, Port Royal was designated as a UNESCO National Heritage Site. Number 4. Bimini Road. Beneath the crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas is an amazing yet mysterious stone that spans for about a half of a mile. The long stone has become known as Bimini Road. Bimini Road was discovered by a subsea archaeologist and diving team led by Joseph Mason Valentine in 1968, and many believed that the road could lead to the lost city of Atlantis. Adding to the lore of the Bimini Road, in 1938, the psychic Edgar Cayce predicted that someone would make an amazing discovery complete with ancient temples between the years 1968 or 1969. And as we know, that prediction came true. To make things even more mysterious, the name Bimini appears multiple times throughout ancient Egyptian texts. Could this road lead somewhere that only the ancients knew about? Possibly. But what is more likely is this half-mile road of large stone slabs is simply the result of nature and erosion. Number 3. The Subway Car Artificial Reef. The subway is a staple of New York City's past, present, and future. And while the city's subway cars may be built to last, that doesn't mean they last forever. At some point, train cars must be retired, and they have to go somewhere. 16 nautical miles off the coast of the Delaware River are hundreds of retired subway cars that found a new home on the seabed, 80 feet below the surface. And while you would think that a grand total of 666 subway cars sitting at the bottom of the lake would be a nuisance, this is not the case. The sheer weight of each car ensures they'll sit unmoved at the lakebed, but more importantly, the local aquatic flora and fauna have made quite a home out of them. Seagrass grows inside, much of the walls are covered in barnacles, mussels, sponges, and plenty of large fish roam freely. Number 2. Cuban Underwater Formation. In 2001, marine engineer Pauline Zanitsky found what appears to be the ruins of an ancient city in the waters around western Cuba. They found corridors, buildings, massive granite complexes, circular structures, and pyramids 2,000 feet below the surface. But not everyone is convinced that these are the ruins of a once-sprawling metropolis. Oceanographers and even National Geographic have gone on to say that 2,000 feet below the surface is just too deep to have once been home to humans. At that depth, it would have taken around 50,000 years or so for the city to be submerged. So far, the site can only be reached by sonar and underwater robot imaging, both of which have come up a little short in terms of concrete evidence. And while the possibility that this anomaly is a series of natural structures exists, it hasn't been ruled out that these are in fact the ruins of an ancient city. Never say never. Number 1. City of Pavlopetri. It's one thing to find some old ruins in the ocean's depths, but entire towns? Now that's a different story. According to scientists, the city of Pavlopetri in Greece is about 5,000 years old. But it's not just buildings that have been left behind. There are also streets, courtyards, and even tombs, and cover 50,000 square meters. Researchers and historians believe that the city of Pavlopetri was once a thriving coastal town that was an important trading harbor on the Mediterranean Sea. The ruins of the city itself were discovered in 1967 and mapped out the next year by Cambridge archaeologists. But it wasn't until 2009 when scientists discovered late Neolithic pottery, which has allowed them to date the city so far back as even one of the oldest submerged cities to date. The underwater ruins and its artifacts are so vast and intact, it gives you a pretty concrete insight into what life was like for the 5,000-year-old coastal city. Watch our waves playlist for more top 15 videos about massive waves. Sit back, relax, and binge watch all of our best wave videos.