It’s always nice to read about a new discovery, especially one as big as the volcano found in the Pacific Ocean. One of the things that makes this discovery so fascinating is that it has been hidden for so long. It is reportedly the size of New Mexico and located about a thousand miles from Japan. So how does something so big stay hidden for so long?

The research team that found the volcano did so on accident. William Sager and his team of scientists were on a cruise researching a submerged mountain range. It turns out the volcano was hidden inside the mountain range and it was 20 years before the researchers could study and conclude that it was indeed a volcano.

“It’s nice to be able to find something that’s new and exciting and makes people look up from their cup of coffee,” said Sager.

It’s a little scary to think that a huge volcano is lurking off the coast of largely populated area, but scientist say there is nothing to worry about. The volcano, like many others that are so massive in size, is extinct or no longer active. That means it cannot erupt anymore or cause any damage. Count your blessings, because a volcano this big could wreak havoc on our planet if it were to erupt.

Large volcanos like this one named Tamu Massif are rare on earth but have been known to form on other planets, such as Mars. In fact, the largest volcano in our solar system was discovered on Mars. Even though Tamu Massif is the largest volcano every discovered on Earth, scientist believe that the peak never rose above sea level, meaning this monster has been submerged for millions of years.

Discoveries like these don’t happen often but when they do it always seems to get the world wondering what else might be hiding just out of sight. As scientist continue to study this massive volcano, it is likely to give up some interesting secrets and share a glimpse of what our world was like over 100 million years ago.

Image from Wikimedia Commons