Atlantic Whaler Found in Pacific - French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii

(Courtesy the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

America's whaling fleet expanded the country's global reach and transformed the economy of the Pacific in the 1800s. Very few wrecks of these vessels have ever been found, as they usually went down in deep water, far from shore. This year, federal marine archaeologists working at French Frigate Shoals in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii finally identified one—Two Brothers, a Nantucket whaler that sank in

Samir S. Patel is a contributing editor at ARCHAEOLOGY.