The Great Blue Hole is a giant submarine sinkhole roughly 300 meters across and more than 120 meters deep, located within Lighthouse Reef Atoll off the coast of Belize. It began as a limestone karst cave system that formed on dry land during past glacial periods, when sea level was much lower, and later partially collapsed and flooded as sea level rose at the end of the last ice age. Stalactites recovered from within its submerged chambers, which could only have formed in open air, confirm the site's origin as a dry cave rather than a marine feature. It lies within the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System UNESCO World Heritage Site and was made internationally famous after being explored and filmed by Jacques Cousteau in 1971.
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Classification
Protected StatusUNESCO World Heritage Site 1 Connections
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Source Wikidata: Great Blue Hole
Sources
1. Great Blue Hole (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia article lead, protection designation
at Blue Hole is part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In Group: Sinkholes and Blue Holes, Lead paragraph
The Great Blue Hole is a large marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize.
View the SourceWikidata: Great Blue Hole
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