.Some scientists think it’s as large as the United States, but almost no one noticed it until 1997.
Then, an adventurer named Charles Moore made a shocking discovery, and scientists learned the ugly truth.
Moore was the captain of a sailboat that had just completed a race.
The usual route went south, then east.
The winds are strong there, and boats move quickly.
He decided to sail directly east - a slow route with weak winds.
This region gets few visitors, so Moore was sailing into almost unknown waters
What Moore found in the lonely North Pacific was a shock.
Floating under the ocean’s surface was a “soup” of plastic garbage.
It was thick with billions of tiny plastic the size of apple seeds.
They made a clicking sound against the sides of the boat as it sailed along.
Everyday plastic objects, such as shopping bags and water bottles, were trapped among the tiny pieces
In the middle of the ocean, a thousand miles from the nearest town, the sea of garbage stretched as far as Moore could see.