LEVEL O • 388 Words People always talk about how incredible it would be to travel to Mars or some other distant planet. Yet some of the largest places that have never been visited are right here on Earth. The ocean is full of incredible unexplored areas! The ocean is huge. That’s because a lot more of the Earth is covered with water than with land. Imagine the Earth was a pie cut into ten slices. Seven of the slices would be made up of ocean, and only three slices would be made up of land. That’s why when astronauts view the Earth from space it looks blue rather than green. The Unknown Ocean Oceans contain large areas that have never been explored by humans. Deep under the ocean, it’s very cold and very dark. But with special equipment, scientists can see the bottom of the ocean. They do this by sending remote control submarines down into the ocean. The submarines have cameras that let the scientists see what’s there. So far, they’ve discovered underwater plains, mountains, vast canyons, and even volcanoes. The ocean is surprisingly deep. In fact, one spot is deeper than the height of any mountain on Earth. Water 70% Land 30% % 70 Land 3 W e Informational Text Tex orm nfor ion In ext mati nal Deep Sea Exploration By Steve Katz
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LEVEL O • 388 Words
People always talk about how incredible it would be to travel to Mars
or some other distant planet. Yet some of the largest places that have
never been visited are right here on Earth. The ocean is full of incredible
unexplored areas!
The ocean is huge. That’s because a lot more
of the Earth is covered with water than with land.
Imagine the Earth was a pie cut into ten slices.
Seven of the slices would be made up of ocean,
and only three slices would be made up of land.
That’s why when astronauts view the Earth from
space it looks blue rather than green.
The Unknown Ocean
Oceans contain large areas that have never been explored by
humans. Deep under the ocean, it’s very cold and very dark. But with
special equipment, scientists can see the bottom of the ocean. They do
this by sending remote control submarines down into the ocean. The
submarines have cameras that let the scientists see what’s there. So
far, they’ve discovered underwater plains,
mountains, vast canyons, and
even volcanoes.
The ocean is surprisingly deep.
In fact, one spot is deeper than the
height of any mountain on Earth.
Deep Sea Exploration
Water 70%
Land 30%Land 30%
Water 70%
Land 30%
Water 70%Water 70%
Informational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational TextInformational Text
Deep Sea ExplorationBy Steve Katz
The top of Mount Everest, the world’s
highest mountain, reaches five miles
up into the air. But there is a trench in
the middle of the Pacific Ocean that
is seven miles deep! It is called the
Mariana Trench.
Rich With Life
Even though it’s very cold and
dark down there, the deep sea has
lots of life. There are strange glowing
fish that make their own light. There is
a long eel with 750 bones in its spine,
more than any other animal. There is
also a giant bug that walks across the
ocean floor.
One of the most mysterious deep-
sea creatures is the giant squid. This squid can grow nearly 60 feet long
and can weigh up to a ton. It has the biggest eyes of any animal in the
world. They’re the size of beach balls! For years, scientists had only seen
the bodies of giant squids that had washed up on shore. Then in 2005,
scientists took the first photos of a live giant squid.
The oceans are filled with many more wonders. What other types of
things do you think will be discovered down there?
MOUNTEVEREST
MARIANATRENCH
Deep-Sea Angler Fish
Next Step G
uided R
ead
ing Assessm
ent, Gra
des 3
–6 © 2013, Scho
lastic Inc.
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