Fun Facts

• Water covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface.
• The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is 16.3 m, taller than a three-story building.
• 90% of all volcanic activity occurs in the oceans.
• Of the 350 or so shark species, about 80% grow to less than 1.6 m and are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people.
• Sharks attack some 50-75 people each year worldwide, with around 8 to 12 fatalities per year, according to data compiled in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). Although shark attacks get a lot of attention, this is far less than the number of people killed each year by elephants, bees, crocodiles, lightning or many other natural dangers. On the other side of the ledger, we kill somewhere between 20-100 million sharks every year through fishing activities.
• Sharks have been swimming in the ocean for 400 million years. They predate even the dinosaurs.
• The lowest known point on Earth, called the Challenger Deep, is 11,034 m deep, in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific. To get an idea of how deep that is, if you could take Mt. Everest and place it at the bottom of the trench there would still be over a mile of ocean above it. The Dead Sea is the Earth's lowest land point with an elevation of 396 m below sea level.
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world.
• All life in the ocean is divided into three main groups. They are plankton, nekton, and benthos.
• Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on land or in water. Blue whales have two blowholes that are raised above the head.
• Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Poseidon was the brother of Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided creation between them. Zeus ruled the sky, Hades ruled the Underworld, and Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt.

References:

Marine Bio (2008). Retrieved September 26, 2009, Website: http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Facts/

FLMNH (2007). Retrieved September 24, 2009, Website: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm

KidZone (2009). Retrieved September 26, 2009, Website: http://www.kidzone.ws/sharks/facts.htm

Think Quest (2008). Retrieved September 25, 2009, Website: http://library.thinkquest.org/6234/newpage1.htm