Cuban underwater formation facts for kids
 Location in Cuba
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| Region | Pinar del Río Province |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 21°46′21″N 84°50′12″W / 21.772547°N 84.836736°W |
| History | |
| Cultures | Unknown |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Hypothetical ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
The Cuban underwater formation is a mysterious place deep in the ocean off the coast of Cuba. Some people think it might be the remains of an ancient city or structures made by humans, hidden beneath the waves near the Guanahacabibes Peninsula in the Pinar del Río Province.
What is the Cuban Underwater Formation?
In 2001, a team exploring the ocean floor near Cuba found something very unusual. They were using special equipment called sonar. Sonar uses sound waves to map what's underwater. The sonar images showed shapes that looked like they were made by people, like buildings or city blocks. These shapes covered an area of about 2 square kilometers (about 0.77 square miles). They were very deep, between 600 and 750 meters (about 1,970 to 2,460 feet) below the surface.
The discovery was made by Pauline Zalitzki, a marine engineer, and Paul Weinzweig. They own a Canadian company called Advanced Digital Communications. They were working with the Cuban government on this exploration.
Exploring the Deep
The team went back to the site with a special underwater robot. This robot is called a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The ROV could go deep into the ocean and film what was there. The robot's cameras showed images that looked like huge, smooth blocks of stone. Some shapes looked like pyramids, and others were circular. Pauline Zalitzki said it looked like it could have been a large city. However, she also said it was important not to jump to conclusions without more proof.
What Do Experts Think?
Many experts have looked at the images, but they have different ideas. John Echave, a senior editor at National Geographic, said the images were "interesting." But he also said it was hard to know for sure what they were until someone could go down and see them in person.
Professor Robert Ballard, an expert in oceanography, thought the site was too deep for human-made structures. He said it would be surprising if humans had built something that far down. He also mentioned that sonar images can sometimes be tricky. People might see what they want to see, like looking at an ink blot.
A marine geologist named Manuel Iturralde asked for more samples before making any conclusions. He said the findings were very unusual. He also thought it would have taken about 50,000 years for such structures to sink to that depth. He pointed out that no known cultures from that long ago had the ability to build such large structures. An underwater archaeologist from Florida State University agreed. They said that if the structures were real, they would be "out of time and out of place" for anything known in the New World from that period.
So, while the images are fascinating, scientists need more evidence to understand what the Cuban underwater formation truly is.
See also
In Spanish: Formación sumergida de Cuba para niños
- Adam's Bridge
- Baltic Sea anomaly
- Bimini Road
- Unidentified submerged object
- Yonaguni Monument
