Not a fact anymore
The deep-ocean floor is mostly flat and featureless.
What we know now
The seafloor contains enormous mountain ranges, deep trenches, volcanic ridges, seamounts, fracture zones, canyons, and broad abyssal plains.
Why it changed
Before systematic deep-sea sounding, the ocean bottom was largely unknown and was often imagined as a smooth basin. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century surveys revealed a rugged landscape, including the global mid-ocean ridge system.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Ocean Science
- Accepted for
- ≈205 years
- Accepted approximately
- Before the 19th century
- Changed approximately
- 19th century–1950s
