The BEST episodes of Drain the Oceans

Every episode of Drain the Oceans ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Drain the Oceans!

Maritime mysteries -- old and new -- come to life in this 10-episode series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world. Innovative technology allows viewers to see what lies on the floors of large bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Nile, the Indian Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean as if they had been drained. Then, in a quest to explain natural wonders and man-made catastrophes, stories tell of how vessels sank, what ancient geological formations reveal about life on Earth, where Nazi secrets now reside, and why so many continue to search for the legendary city of Atlantis.

Last Updated: 4/21/2024Network: National GeographicStatus: Continuing
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Ancient Maya Resurrection
star
8.07
14 votes

#1 - Ancient Maya Resurrection

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/13/2022

Maya Collapse: New discoveries made at a lost city and a tale of human sacrifice offer a new insight into the rise and fall of the ancient Maya.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Pearl Harbor
star
8.07
14 votes

#2 - Pearl Harbor

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/29/2022

Draining Hawaii reveals Japan's secret weapons, from mini subs to fighter planes, with the wreck of USS Arizona serving as a reminder of the forces unleashed.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Secrets of the Dinosaurs
star
8.07
15 votes

#3 - Secrets of the Dinosaurs

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/19/2023

From Patagonia to Canada, paleontologists uncover the Real Jurassic Americas.

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Rise of the Mob
star
7.93
15 votes

#4 - Rise of the Mob

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/12/2023

Lost wrecks reveal how the Mob gained power and wealth in 1920s America.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Pacific War Megawrecks
star
7.85
33 votes

#5 - Pacific War Megawrecks

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/12/2019

A high-tech expedition searches for the iconic lost wrecks of the Battle of the Pacific.

Watch Now:Apple TV
The Myth of the Pacific Pirate Ship
star
7.73
15 votes

#6 - The Myth of the Pacific Pirate Ship

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/26/2023

Fragments of porcelain and blocks of beeswax lead to a 250-year-old shipwreck and a forgotten trade route of vast cargo ships in the Pacific.

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Secrets of D-Day
star
7.65
43 votes

#7 - Secrets of D-Day

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/3/2019

Sonar technology heads beneath Normandy's waves for a powerful look at the hundred plus ships wrecked during the largest amphibious invasion ever.

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Venice's Lost Empire
star
7.65
20 votes

#8 - Venice's Lost Empire

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/9/2021

A 14th-century galley entombed in mud, a 16th-century hoard of luxury cargo, and a gruesome discovery reveal the rise and fall of the Venetian Empire.

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Secrets of the Spanish Armada
star
7.63
38 votes

#9 - Secrets of the Spanish Armada

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/5/2019

Spain's attempted conquest of England fails when its Armada is defeated; by draining the ocean, it is revealed that the English stole shipbuilding technology to build their own empire.

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Malaysia Airlines 370
star
7.60
57 votes

#10 - Malaysia Airlines 370

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/30/2018

Where is Malaysian Airlines flight MH370? CGI reconstruction reveals the challenges of locating an aircraft that goes missing in the deep ocean.

Watch Now:Amazon
Sunken Treasures
star
7.58
62 votes

#11 - Sunken Treasures

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/18/2018

Treasure hunting has captured our imaginations for centuries. Draining the oceans reveals the richest wrecks ever found.

Watch Now:Amazon
Egypt's Lost Wonders
star
7.58
52 votes

#12 - Egypt's Lost Wonders

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/9/2018

The Nile was central to ancient Egypt. Draining its water reveals a lost wonder and the origins of the Egyptians’ obsession with the afterlife.

Watch Now:Amazon
Lost Giants
star
7.55
29 votes

#13 - Lost Giants

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/30/2019

Maritime archaeologists and historians go in search of the biggest wrecks ever sunk beneath the seas; new scientific data combines with cutting-edge computer graphics to drain the oceans to investigate the world's most awe-inspiring wrecks.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
America's Last Slave Ship
star
7.52
42 votes

#14 - America's Last Slave Ship

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/9/2020

Maritime archaeologists and historians go in search of the crucial component in the Atlantic Slave Trade: the slave ship. An armoured, floating fortress operating for over four centuries, capturing and transporting over 12 million Africans, who were sold and forced to work in brutal conditions in the New World. By draining we reveal the cruel technology on-board, gain an insight into the horrific conditions and ID a wreck in Alabama that could be the last ever slave ship to bring Africans to American soil.

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Killer U-Boats
star
7.50
40 votes

#15 - Killer U-Boats

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/17/2019

Shedding light on German U-Boats, the world’s first stealth weapons.

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Secrets of New York City
star
7.49
47 votes

#16 - Secrets of New York City

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/10/2019

Submerged shipwrecks and subterranean secrets reveal the story of New York City’s rise.

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Ultimate Battleships
star
7.48
52 votes

#17 - Ultimate Battleships

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/23/2018

The hidden secrets of WWI's powerful weapons are revealed by draining the North Sea.

Watch Now:Amazon
Lost Worlds of the Mediterranean
star
7.47
68 votes

#18 - Lost Worlds of the Mediterranean

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/11/2018

The secrets of lost ancient civilizations come to light when the Mediterranean is drained.

Directors: Michael Davies
Watch Now:Amazon
The Atomic Ghost Fleet
star
7.46
39 votes

#19 - The Atomic Ghost Fleet

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/5/2020

A high-tech survey reveals the dark secrets of U.S. nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.

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The First Americans
star
7.45
20 votes

#20 - The First Americans

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/9/2021

Clues from a 13,000-year-old skeleton and a submerged coastline reveal surprising insights about the first humans to arrive in the Americas.

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Invasion USA
star
7.43
14 votes

#21 - Invasion USA

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/2/2023

A shipwreck is thought to be a lost flagship from the War of 1812, and an artist uncovers her ancestor’s link to the burning of the White House.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Egypt's Sunken City
star
7.40
30 votes

#22 - Egypt's Sunken City

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/12/2020

A legendary ancient Egyptian city, lost beneath the waves for 2,000 years, finally gives up its secrets.

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Deadly Pacific
star
7.37
57 votes

#23 - Deadly Pacific

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/2/2018

The Ring of Fire is an area in the Pacific Ocean where volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis form; the ocean is drained to reveal the geological forces behind natural disasters and to uncover threats along the coast of Seattle, Tokyo and New Zealand.

Directors: John Hyde
Watch Now:Amazon
Nazi Secrets
star
7.36
94 votes

#24 - Nazi Secrets

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/28/2018

The hidden secrets of the Nazis are revealed when the oceans covering them are drained using CGI animation.

Directors: Marc Tiley
Watch Now:Amazon
Hitler's Killer Warships
star
7.35
31 votes

#25 - Hitler's Killer Warships

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/23/2019

Shedding new light on Hitler's reign of terror and ultimate demise.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV