If you could see these sounds, they would look like tall, pointed mountains. Whales also emit low frequency sound waves. These waves are like hills that are wide spread apart. These sound waves can travel very far in water without losing energy. Sound frequencies are measured in units called Hertz.
Humans can only hear part of the whales' songs.
We aren't able to hear the lowest of the whale frequencies. Humans hear low frequency sounds starting at about 100 Hz. Whale Songs Similar to Other Animals Researchers have noted that whale songs sound very similar to the songs of hoofed animals, such as. One of the leading researchers into humpback whale sounds, Katy Payne, also studies elephant sounds and has found similarities between these two species. The larynx was originally thought to be the site of sound production in cetaceans but experiments on live, phonating dolphins showed that the larynx does not move during vocalizations.