Comments on: Shallowest water in the ocean Comments on Ask MetaFilter post Shallowest water in the ocean Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:17:28 -0800 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:25:00 -0800 en-us 60 Question: Shallowest water in the ocean Where can I stand on the ocean floor, with my head above water? <br /><br /> Some parts of the ocean are deep and others are not so deep. Are there any places where the water is just a few feet deep, but you are otherwise miles (perhaps hundreds of miles) from land? I'll accept islands that disappear during high tide (I assume there are some), but I'd like answers where there is never dry land.<br> <br> I just like the idea of a boat stopping off in the middle of the ocean and being able to jump down and wade in the water, even though the nearest land is miles away.,2012:site.227210 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:17:28 -0800 It's Never Lurgi shallow water By: Kadin2048 Not exactly what you're looking for, but maybe a starting point: <a href="">seamounts</a> are basically what the name implies, undersea mountains. They typically are still well underwater, but occasionally have peaks that approach the surface. The <a href="">Muirfield Seamount</a> is tall enough that it presents a hazard to navigation (big ships only, though). And the <a href="">Bowie Seamount</a> off the coast of B.C. is also within double-digit feet of the surface.<br> <br> I suspect that they don't come closer than that to the surface due to currents, or else they'd break through completely and be islands.<br> <br> IIRC there's a seamount that's in the process of becoming a new island in the Hawaiian chain, so at some point it'll be very close to the surface. Probably not a place you'd want to stand though, when it does (since it'll be volcanic).,2012:site.227210-3287965 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:25:00 -0800 Kadin2048 By: mareli There are many gorgeous, in my estimation, maps of ocean floors, see some by googling ocean floor maps. I know I've read about such places, but can't remember where.,2012:site.227210-3287975 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:30:28 -0800 mareli By: bendybendy the sunken atolls known as<a href=""> Minerva Reefs</a> might be what you are looking for. <br> <br> I'd also like to snorkel around <a href="">Kicker Rock</a> some day,2012:site.227210-3287994 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:39:07 -0800 bendybendy By: OrangeDisk You might have luck Googling for "vanishing islands." These are islands that disappear at high tide, although as search term, it's getting a bit swamped by articles about climate change.<br> <br> One such island is actually called <a href="">Vanishing Island</a>, although it has houses and trees on it, so it's not quite what you are looking for. There's also Holland Island in the Chesapeake Bay, although it also has a house on it (<a href="">at least for now</a>). I know there's at least one of these islands in the Virgin Islands, and one was completely devastated by Hurricane Earl a few years ago -- but I can't for the life of me recall or find the name of it.,2012:site.227210-3288028 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:58:23 -0800 OrangeDisk By: OrangeDisk I meant to add that Holland Island isn't a vanishing island, it's closer to what you are looking for.,2012:site.227210-3288032 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:59:34 -0800 OrangeDisk By: Johnny Assay <a href="">Bassas da India</a>, in the Indian Ocean, is completely covered by the tides for about six hours each day.,2012:site.227210-3288037 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:02:32 -0800 Johnny Assay By: From Bklyn The Grand and Little Bahama Banks have parts of very shallow, almost at the surface, water. (<a href="">Wikipedia link.</a>) Yet you can be far out of sight of land at the same time.,2012:site.227210-3288105 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:47:34 -0800 From Bklyn By: vasi I think there are some places like this in <a href="">the Dry Tortugas</a> off of the Florida Keys. If you look at the "Detailed nautical chart" on that page, a number of places there have soundings of just a few feet.,2012:site.227210-3288141 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:14:56 -0800 vasi By: mr vino <a href="">The Nantucket Shoals</a> "extends eastward for 23 miles and southeastward for 40 miles [from Nantucket Island]; in places water depth can be as shallow as three feet",2012:site.227210-3288343 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:35:19 -0800 mr vino By: sarah_pdx Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but the "<a href="">Passage du Gois</a>" is a <a href="">french road often covered by tides</a>.,2012:site.227210-3288371 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:57:22 -0800 sarah_pdx