Archeologists believe they may have discovered the remains of one of Christopher Columbus' ships lying at the bottom of the sea off the north coast of Haiti.

The wreck is believed to be Columbus' famous vessel, the Santa Maria, which was shipwrecked in the Caribbean more than 500 years ago.

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The Santa Maria was one of the ships in Columbus' small fleet, which set out from Spain in 1492 in hopes of discovering a westward route to India, China and the East.

However, the ship ran aground that same year off the coast of Haiti and Columbus and his crew continued their voyage in the two remaining vessels, the Nina and the Pinta.

If experts have identified the recently discovered wreckage correctly, this will be one of the most significant underwater archeological discoveries in history.

Barry Clifford, one of America's top underwater archeological explorers, led the expedition and is confident that geographical, topographical, and archeological evidence point to the wreckage being the well-known Santa Maria flagship.

On Monday, Clifford told CNN that he located the ship exactly where Columbus had said it ran aground over five centuries ago.

The once sea-faring vessel had sunk 10 to 15 feet below the surface of the water in a reef off of Haiti's coast.

The feature, which leads Clifford to believe that he has discovered Columbus' long-lost ship, is the cannon in 15th century design which was found at the site.

Information about the remains of Columbus' fort set up in Haiti and discovered in 2003, along with data from the famous explorer's diary helped the archeologist to pinpoint the location of the wrecked Santa Maria.

An explorer in his own right, the 68-year-old Clifford stated that discovering the lost ship which once changed human history is the Mount Everest of shipwrecks for him.