In the South Atlantic, some 1,200 miles southwest of Cape Town, South Africa, a team of scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego, have mapped a deep-sea mountain range otherwise known only from satellite photos.

The mountain range has flat-topped peaks and is extremely steep. Scientists are interested in these submarine mountain ranges, which are also called seamounts, for several reasons. Closer examination of the seamounts’ geological and chemical makeup can reveal a lot about the Earth’s interior. Also, they have a profound effect on any given area’s ecosystem.

The work of mapping out the world’s submarine mountains has only just begun, however. So far, satellites have found 13,000 other underwater mountains, but according to the team, there are probably more than 100,000 submarine mountains throughout the world.