It is a large sink or "blue hole" off the coast of Belize. It is located near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll located 100 kilometers from the mainland coast and Belize City. The hole is circular, and has more than 300 meters wide and 123 meters deep.
When the ice age ended, or last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago, the sea level rose, the caves were flooded, the roof collapsed and this chasm formed that passionate the divers because it harbors many species of fish, sponges and corals .
This site was made famous by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who made a first dive in 1960 and declared this place one of the ten best dive sites in the world. In 1971, Cousteau took his boat, the Calypso, to the hole to trace its depths
The investigations of this expedition confirmed the origin of the hole as typical formations of karst limestone, formed before the elevation of the sea level in at least four stages, leaving projections with depths of 21, 49 and 91 meters. The stalactites were recovered from submerged caves, confirming their previous formation above sea level. Some of these stalactites are outside the vertical of 10 ° -13 °, in a coherent orientation, which indicates that there has also been some geological movement and an inclination of the underlying platform, followed by a long period in the current plane.
This is a popular spot among recreational divers, who are attracted by the opportunity to dive in crystal clear waters and encounter various species of fish, which include giants. We can find several species of sharks such as the nurse, the Caribbean reef shark and the black tip shark. Other species of sharks have been seen, such as the bull shark and hammerhead shark, but sightings are not frequent. Typically, diving trips to the big blue hole are full day excursions, which includes diving into the blue hole and two more dives into the nearby reefs. Caves of similar formation, such as the great blue hole, are well known on the coasts of Belize, and in the Yucatan peninsula, where they are known as "cenotes".
Let's dive! ... or at least swim in the Great Blue Hole. Approximately 100 kilometers near the city of Belize there is a place that for some would be a paradise for water and for others an experience of total fear, and it is not for less since in the Coral Islands of Turneffe in Belize, there is a perfect circle of approximately 305 meters in diameter and a depth of 123 meters known as the Great Blue Hole or Great Blue Hole. This magnificent tourist attraction was the entrance to a system of limestone caves in the last Ice Age. When the glaciation ended about 12,000 years ago, these caverns flooded because the sea level rose, giving rise to this great phenomenon of nature that increasingly attracts tourists (divers) and lovers of mystery since it has registered different species of fish, corals, marine sponges and sharks.
The Great Hole is within the top 10 of the best places to dive in the world, and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Like any place in the world, this fantastic site is still dangerous, since it is said that in 2008 were found the remains of a European tourist who disappeared long ago and could be identified because together with He found his camera; for this reason there are areas where it is not allowed to dive, leaving others where they are. For greater security of the visitors the excursions are made by day only, beginning with the big hole and ending with reefs of a smaller size.
