The Great Blue Hole of Belize

At the coast of Belize is a large underwater sinkhole called “The Great Blue Hole of Belize.” During the last glacial period it was formed as a limestone cave system when sea levels were much lower, but when the ocean began to rise, the caves were flooded and the roof collapsed creating this perfectly circular limestone sinkhole.

The Great Blue Hole of Belize isn’t just an amazing geographical phenomenon, but also one of the best diving sites in the world. It’s circular in shape, over 300 meters (984 ft) across and 125 meters (410 ft) deep. The outer edge is merely a few feet underwater at high tide. The range of the stalactites and limestone formations which mould its walls seem to become more elaborate and intense the deeper one dives.

At some time, many millions of years ago, there was a major earthquake and this probably caused the cave ceiling to collapse forming the sinkhole. The great depth of this sinkhole creates the deep blue indigo color and corals surround it. Water doesn’t circulate freely in the Blue Hole, so there is very little marine life below its shallow depths.  Read more...

***All images used are from Google Images