The Underwater City of Port Royal

Another mysterious underwater building is the underwater city of Port Royal. Port Royal is a village in southern Jamaica located at the end of the Palisadoes, near the mouth of Kingston Harbour. It was founded by the Spanish in 1494 and was once the greatest city in the Caribbean, serving as the center of shipping and commerce in the Caribbean Sea by the late 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami on June 7, 1692, resulting in the development of Kingston, which is currently Jamaica's main metropolis. Severe hurricanes have frequently wreaked havoc on the region. Unlike any other historical landmark that underwent construction, remodeling, abandonment, and collapse, Port Royal was carefully preserved in the waters exactly as it was on the day of the earthquake.

After the earthquake on June 7, 1692, it flooded, drowning two-thirds of the city. On June 7, 1692, a massive earthquake struck the city, destroying most of its northern sector as well as many of the town's residences and other structures. Many of the forts were also destroyed; Fort Charles survived, but Forts James and Carlisle collapsed into the sea, Fort Rupert became a massive body of water, and Morgan's Line was severely damaged.

The earthquake liquefied the sand beneath Port Royal, causing it to spill into Kingston Harbour. The water table was generally only two feet down before the impact, and the settlement was built on a layer of water-saturated sand 65 feet (20 meters) thick. This type of terrain did not give a solid foundation for constructing a complete community. Scientists and underwater archaeologists now agree that the earthquake was severe and that liquefaction caused much of the damage at Port Royal.

Location: Jamaica, Kingston
Depth: 15m
Dating: from 1692