The Challenger Expedition

The Challenger Expedition was a ship that went on a four year expedition to explore the vast ocean from 1872-1876. It was led by John Murray and Charles Wyville Thompson. Sailing a distance of almost 69,000 miles around the South Atlantic, Hawaiian Islands, South America, and more, it collected and discovered more than 4,700 new species. Because The Challenger Expedition was one of the first of its kind, it encouraged other countries to begin exploring the ocean as well, beginning a race of ocean exploration.
Photo: http://enderender.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/chall.jpg