Discover a submarine mountain taller than Mount Olympus

According to Greek mythology, there was a peak where the weather was temperate all year round. The Olympians lived there, with golden furniture that came in and out of the rooms at the gods' will. It was an inaccessible place, surrounded by clouds created by the Hours, goddesses of the seasons, preventing mortals from attempting to climb the summit. Only the gods could leave the place and mingle with mortals to intervene in wars, beget demigods, and engage in other affairs that are the source of much of Greek mythology.

Beyond the legend, archaeological studies have shown that Mount Olympus was visited numerous times, especially during antiquity and the early Middle Ages, during which coins and ceramics dating back to 400 B.C. have been found. Meanwhile, 13,000 kilometers away, submerged under the waters of the Pacific, there was an ocean ridge where two millennia later, the home of the Olympians would be relegated to second place.

Although this is not a mythical mountain, the discovery of this mountain range, located 1450 kilometers off the coast of Chile, marks a milestone in the underwater exploration of the oceanic mountain. At 3,109 meters high, this mountain is 200 meters taller than the Greek one when measured from its base, and was discovered during a 28-day expedition by the research vessel Falkor.

It was a surprise, during the days at sea, to find a surface that is four times larger than the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet and the most colossal engineering feat ever created by humankind. This was announced by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a philanthropic organization aimed at unraveling the mysteries of the ocean floor.

Using sonars placed on the ship's hull, the team discovered these underwater landscapes while investigating the ocean floor of the Nazca Ridge, which rises between 2000 and 4000 meters above the seabed. "The sound waves go down and bounce off the surface, and we measure the time it takes for them to return and be measured. From there, we get a really good idea (of the seafloor topography)," said the institute's executive director, Jyotika Virmani, to CNN.

Beyond the mountain itself, the study of this area has revealed a great diversity of marine flora and fauna. These places are the perfect home for ancient underwater gardens, formed by sponges and corals, which are currently inhabited by a good number of species that live practically unchanged. The team used an underwater drone to investigate the site, where they made important discoveries about its fauna.

Among them, the discovery of a small squid named Promachoteuthis has been a significant achievement, as it is a species never before photographed and known to exist from a handful of species dated back to the 19th century.