Featured Image Credit: Museo Atlántico
By Lindsay Edgar
We’ve seen pictures of shipwrecks and the underwater mysteries of sea caves and dark trenches, but few of us have had the pleasure of actually diving down there in person. If you are an experienced diver, here is something to put on your bucket list. Off the coast of the Spanish island Lanzarote, ghostly stone statues rest deep under the water’s surface. The Museo Atlantico (Atlantic Museum) has more than 300 sculptures to keep you company near the ocean floor, and it just recently opened to the public! Designed by international artist Jason deCaires Taylor, the statues are only accessible to divers, snorkelers, and sea life.
Not only is the underwater museum amazing to swim through, but it is also eco-friendly. All of the sculptures are made from environmentally friendly concrete which is pH-balanced to fit right in with the underwater ecosystem.
One purpose of the Atlantic Museum is to create a space that acts as an artificial coral reef. Sea urchins, fish, and octopus are attracted to the stone structures and use them for shelter. Since its installment began, the site has been visited by rare angel sharks, barracuda, sardines, octopus, and butterfly rays.
Its second purpose is to promote environmental awareness and social change. In one section of the museum, 35 figures are “walking” toward a gateway in a wall that stretches 30 meters along the ocean floor. The artist commented that the scene, “aims to mark 2017 as a pivotal moment, a line in the sand and a reminder that our oceans and climate are changing and we need to take urgent action before it’s too late.” Right on, Jason!
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