The Great Blue Hole.....
The Great Blue Hole is a giant marine sinkhole off the coast of the Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 70 km from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is circular in shape, 318 m across and 124 m deep. It has a surface area of 70,650 square metres ( 760,500 sq ft). It was formed during several episodes of quaternary glaciation when sea levels were much lower . Analysis of stalactites found in the Great Blue Hole shows that formation took place 153,000, 66,000, 60,000, and 15,000 years ago. As the ocean began to rise again, the cave was flooded. The Great Blue Hole is a part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . I t is declared as one of the top five scuba diving sites in the world. In 2012 Discovery channel ranked the Great Blue Hole as number one on its list of "The 10 Most Amazing Places on Earth".