A 745-Mile Whale Graveyard Has Been Found on the Indian Ocean Floor

Scientists exploring one of the least accessible parts of the ocean have discovered an extraordinary concentration of whale remains stretching roughly 745 miles across the southeastern Indian Ocean floor. The site lies within the Diamantina Zone, west of Australia, at depths ranging from about 4,616 to 7,001 metres.

The “graveyard” is not evidence of hundreds of whales dying together in one disaster. It is a vast accumulation formed over millions of years, containing modern whale falls and fossil remains dating back at least 5.3 million years. The discovery was published in Nature on June 10, 2026.