Great Blue Hole

Great Blue Hole - A feature attraction of Diving, lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City, Central America. It is one of the astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth and an amazing natural wonders of the world. Its a part of the Lighthouse Reef System, and right in its center is a large, almost perfectly a circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile across. Inside the hole the water is 480 feet deep and it is the dept of water which gives the deep blue color. Hence the name Blue Hole. The blue hole is a perfectly circular limestone sinkhole more than 300 feet across and 412 feet deep. The array of bizarre stalactites and limestone formation which mould its inner wall seems to become more intricate and intense the deeper one dives. The hole is surrounded by circular reefs, that stretches for about 1000 feet and provide an ideal habitat for corals to attach and flourish. The hole itself is the opening to a system of caves and passageway that penetrate this undersea mountain. In various places, massive limestone stalactites hang down from what was once the ceiling of air filled caves before the end of the last Ice age. When the ice melted the sea level rose, flooding the caves.

Little light reaches the depths of the hole and water does not circulate freely. As a result the deeper areas inside the blue hole dont have the profusion of life associated with most drop-offs.

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