RISING OUT OF THE ABYSS
“Estimates suggest there are between 30,000 and more than 100,000 seamounts with peaks over 1,500m high”
On land, you’d struggle to find a mountain that hasn’t already been climbed. In contrast, in the deep sea there are thousands of unexplored peaks. Seamounts are submerged volcanoes, active or dormant, with foothills planted in the abyss and summits soaring up thousands of metres without breaking the sea surface. These hidden mountains are some of the least known, but most abundant geological features on the planet. They form a fragmented habitat that covers an area rivalling the world’s tropical rainforests. As scientists learn more about seamounts, it’s becoming clear that these dramatic montane seascapes are rich oases of life that play a crucial role across the entire global ocean.
ENORMOUS, ABUNDANT AND UNEXPLORED
Currently, there’s no definitive count of the world’s seamounts, because locating and identifying them is not easy. Estimates
