Belize. Great Blue Hole. big blue hole

Blue holes, which are actually underwater vertical caves, going deep into several tens or even hundreds of meters, are quite common. a natural phenomenon. Similar caves are found off the coast of Egypt, Australia, Guam and the Bahamas, but the most famous is in the Caribbean. Big blue hole(English) Great Blue hole ) is a large hole located in the center reef lighthouse(English) light house Reef ), an atoll in the composition Belize barrier reef covering the area in 809 km 2. It stretches all the way 280 -kilometer-long wall along the coast of Belize in the distance 13 - 24 km from it and is an almost untouched underwater world. The sea bed between the reef and the mainland is flat and sandy, only in some places it rises to the surface, forming low islands overgrown with mangroves. To the east, where the seabed drops sharply, there are three separate atolls: the islets Turnef, Glovers Reef and the aforementioned Lighthouse Reef. The hole is round sinkhole diameter 305 meters, going to the depth 120 meters.

However, big blue hole- not the deepest karstfunnel of this type. This statusbelongs to another cave - blue hole Dina, whose bottom is at the level 205 meters underwater. It is not so far away - near the Bahamas Long Island. But if you take into account the total volume, the Big Blue Hole really takes first place, for which, in fact, it got its name. It is noteworthy that in 1997 spent a year researching the blue hole Fund Cambria. Their equipment showed slightly different data. The depth of the cave was 124 meters. Actually, the difference is not so great, it is less than one percent, so it can be attributed to various kinds of errors. In addition, the goal of the expedition undertaken by the Cambrian Foundation was not at all to determine the size of the blue hole, but to fix its system of underwater caves, as well as to collect core samples that would allow us to determine the chemical composition of the underwater environment.

This amazing karst funnel opens magnificent bird's eye view. The Great Blue Hole is magnificent scenery- turquoise and azure, the transparency of which can make one's head spin, and in the center there is a dark round spot that catches the eye of the observer and seems to drag him into the deepest abyss. Its color is due to the high transparency of the water and the snow-white carbonate sand lying at the bottom of the cave. The fact is that blue has a rather long wavelength compared to other parts of the light spectrum. Therefore, while red, yellow and green are absorbed as they pass through the water, blue has time to reach the bottom of the sinkhole and be reflected from it. Therefore, the cave itself stands out sharply against the background of the azure seabed.

The Blue Hole of Belize is considered to be the largest among the places of its type, and therefore has been listed by UNESCO world heritage.

The famous blue hole of Belize is also included in the list of "Most big holes in the Earth", where it is located in the 5th place in size. But, if the rest of the holes were formed not without human help (mostly ore mining quarries and one failure of the earth's soil, also caused by the human factor), then the Great Blue Hole in Belize, according to scientists, was formed naturally.

Like a blue hole she ended up on the list anomalous places planets, you ask? After all, no monsters live in it, in the likeness of Loch Ness, ships do not sink and disappear. Only sometimes UFOs get into the lens of tourists, but this also happens infrequently. Everything is very simple. Despite the assurances of most scientists, the natural origin of this hole is in doubt. A smooth circle and an even more amazing shape inside - all this evokes thoughts about the man-made of this object. But about this in order, and we will begin our story with the official version.

Origin of the Great Blue Hole

Blue holes are underwater vertical caves that go deep and look like large holes from above. This geological formation was originally a system of limestone caves formed during the last ice age. According to research conducted by scientists, and subsequently to analyzes of stalactites in the cave, it turned out that the Great Blue Hole was formed in several stages, taking place during the Pleistocene glaciation, when the water level of the world's oceans was much lower. The first stage took place around 153 000 years ago, the second 66 000 years ago, the third 60 000 and fourth - 15 000 years ago. Gradually, the glaciers melted, the water level rose, as a result of which the pressure increased and the walls of the cave collapsed more and more. As a result, a large karst funnel was formed, by the way, a phenomenon quite typical for this region. And once, around the end of the Middle Pleistocene, the Great Blue Hole was the most ordinary limestone cave, not even flooded with water.

This scientific theory was put forward a long time ago, but in fact only the most famous French explorer, navigator and photographer could prove it. Jacques Yves Cousteau. The blue hole became famous thanks to him, because Cousteau included it in the list of 10 the best places in the diving world. IN 1972 year on his famous research vessel "Calypso", he went to the blue hole in Lighthouse Reef, to plot routes. There were two popular rumors that arose regarding Commander Cousteau's visit to the hole. The first was a rumor that Cousteau used explosives to blast a path through the atoll to reach the blue hole. This, of course, is not true. Second, the rumor that Philippe Cousteau died in a blue hole during that trip. And it has nothing to do with reality. Philip died in Portugal a few years later.

Cousteau was the first to measure the depth of a hole and confirm the theory of its formation. With the help of special equipment, it was possible to descend to the very bottom of the cave. There were found typical karst formations limestone, located at the level of 21, 49 and 91 meters, in addition, stalactites were also extracted from the underwater cave, this confirmed that the formation of the Great Blue Hole took place in several stages. The expedition members discovered massive stalactites, some of which were located at an angle 10°-13° to the vertical. This meant that during the last 150,000 years there was a geological shift and tilt of the main tectonic platform, which was fixed in the state in which it is now.

There is a version that the Great Blue Hole is a huge vessel in which the ancients kept something. In favor of this point of view was the fact that the walls of the hole are sufficiently even for random formation. In three-dimensional space, it can be represented as a large cylinder representing a reservoir.

The Great Blue Hole is also known as the Ruined Hole. water well. Previously, the cave was at the center of an underground tunnel complex whose ceiling had collapsed. Some of the tunnels are thought to be connected directly through corridors to the mainland, although this has not been conclusively proven. Near the mainland itself, there are many water-filled sinkholes that are connected to caves and tunnels.

One day, many millions of years ago, a significant event took place. First, there was an earthquake, and from this, probably, the ceiling of the cave collapsed, forming a sinkhole. After that, the arch of the Lighthouse Reef tilted by about 12 °. The walls of this cave are richly decorated with ledges, stalactites and stalagmites, columns and natural sculptures.
Some of the stalactites are at an angle to the wall, but it is known that they cannot develop at any angle other than perpendicular. In addition, there are stalactites that were formed after an earthquake and other shifts. There are also those that formed before and after the movement tectonic plates, as a result of which some of the stalactites turned out to be perpendicular to the stalagmites and together they formed a lattice.

Evidence of a gradual change in the level of the world's oceans is the "shelves" and ledges carved into the limestone by the sea, which are visible around the entire perimeter of the inner circumference of the blue hole at various depths. The first of these protrusions is found between 45 - 50 meters and is best seen on south side. The base of the ledge is perfectly flat and cuts the rock by about 5 to 6 meters. This creates a narrowing of the cave.

One of the best diving spots

This place attracts adventurers with underwater caves with outlandish stalactites and stalagmites of enormous size, in addition, the Great Blue Hole is called one of the seven wonders of nature. Central America. Despite the inaccessibility of the site, the blue hole is a popular dive site for recreational diving. It can be reached from the city of Belize, the distance is only 96 kilometers, it is easy to overcome it by boat or motor boat. Services for their rental are widely provided at the local port. The popularity of the place is due to the well-developed tourism infrastructure. The islands are located seaside resorts with diving bases, from where divers are delivered on special boats to diving sites. Also, more than a dozen different tours are organized here, including diving ones. In the last forty plus years, the cave has been a popular diving site. In the 70s. In the 20th century, divers from all over the world began to come here. Many of them wish to defy the elements by plunging into the vast depths of the sea.

Except for two narrow channels, the hole on the surfacepractically closed. The blue hole itselfis the entrance to the system of caves and passages that go through the seamount. In various places, massive limestone stalactites hang from the vaults of the cave. The first of these recesses and underwater corridors begin at a level of 70 meters. In the west of the bowl there are entrances to caves filled with water. These caves are connected to each other by narrow passages. In complete darkness, stalactites, stalagmites and columns exist in a serene world. The bottom is covered with velvet silt, which rises into large clouds at the slightest movement of flippers. At the farthest corner, another narrow tunnel leads to a second cave leading up, and its other corridor leads finally to a third cave. There are very few caves. marine life, and the walls are completely bare due to the lack of direct sunlight. Here are the skeletal remains of turtles that found their home here without finding a way out. The same danger awaits divers. At a depth of 30 meters the diver must find his way back by the same route. If a diver, or even a turtle, has caused the silt to move, he may never find his way out of the murky waters. For experienced divers who specialize in cave diving, this is a very rewarding experience. How deeper dive, topics clearer water and more breathtaking scenery. But we must remember that blue holes do not tolerate arrogance and amateurism. A big blue hole is "too tough" not for everyone. In one of the caves, the skeletons of three people were found - these are most likely lost divers who could not find a way out of there. Caves can only be conquered by divers with extensive experience and excellent training. But even with such people, caves sometimes manage to play a cruel joke.

Divers dive here to a depth of 41 meters and explore the underwater world. As a rule, dives are made no deeper than this level, because. there is not enough oxygen at depth and therefore life flourishes only closer to the surface. The descent into the cave is, first of all, a meeting with the distant past, promising many indelible impressions. Divers descend into the blue hole accompanied by experienced instructors.

The funnel lets in very little sunlight, so you will need a powerful underwater flashlight - not so much to admire the beauty of the cave, but for safety. Photographers are recommended to use 200 ISO film to brighten the background, and videographers will need powerful spotlights.

For any practical purpose, the 120-meter depth makes a blue hole completely unusable. The walls drop from the surface to a depth of approximately 33.5 meters, here you encounter stalactites throughout the descent, which actually "fish" being perpendicular to the walls, and you can dive under the monstrous grinning spikes, making your way among them. The acuity of the senses is increased by the dizzying effect of nitrogen. The water in the caves is still and visibility often approaches 60 meters. Extremely little light reaches the depths of the blue hole, and the water in it does not circulate freely, as a result, there is practically no life at depth.

Sheer walls go down; they have protrusions, and under them - stalactites, sometimes reaching three meters in length. Large stalactites pile up in the northwestern part of the blue hole - not far from the northern entrance. The bottom of this channel goes slightly downhill and is covered with sand and corals. This is where the dive should end. The place where they usually start is marked with a buoy - a line from it stretches to the very bottom. Unlike shallow reefs, the walls of the well are smooth and covered with brown and green algae. Even in the brightest sunlight below 30 meters deep darkness reigns. At a depth of 40 meters, ledges begin, hung from below with stalactites - conical, like giant icicles, and helical, like huge corkscrews. Truly fabulous place! Time passes quickly in the darkness of the abyss, so do not forget to look at your watch - this is very important. The dive ends in the same place where it started - in the north-western channel with a gentle sandy bottom. At a depth of four meters, you can admire the fish for some time, although hardly anything can compare with the impressions of descending into a blue hole.

Flora and fauna

Divers may encounter several interesting views fish, including giant grouper, nurse sharks Andseveral types reef sharks, For example Caribbean reef shark. In the coastal waters of Belize, everything is the same as everywhere else. caribbean, only much brighter and more diverse. Once a year, when the mating season comes, countless shoals gather in the local waters. white sea bass - barramundi And three-spined sticklebacks; in addition, divers are greeted by good-natured dolphins. The reef zone is completely covered corals And sponges. The round shape of the reef provides the perfect habitat for corals to thrive. Corals sometimes break at low tide, but new colonies grow in their place. The outer sides of the atoll reefs are sheer walls - faults, going to a kilometer depth. The water temperature on the reefs remains constant almost all year round: in winter it does not fall below 23-25°C, and in the summer it stays between 25 -28°С.

However, in order to appreciate the beauty of the karst funnel, it is not at all necessary to descend to a very great depth. All living creatures in a large blue hole are concentrated close to the surface. Among the inhabitants of Lighthouse Reef are numerous species of fish, for example, giant perch, hammerhead fish, bull shark And blacktip shark. meet here and sea turtles . And yet, despite the great depth, some living organisms still live at the bottom of the cave, their diversity is limited to a few species. bacteria And fungus.

The article presents photographs of underwater life in The Great Blue Hole and adjacent reef area, taken by a diver named Robyn J. Chan in May 2010.

There is no whirlpool in the blue hole, you should not be afraid of this, but are there monsters in it?

In the late 60's early 70's. 20th century diving team K. Kay claimed that they saw during the dive a huge transparent snake. This animal reportedly had red eyes and was as long as 6 meters, translucent and eel-like in shape. Divers panicked, and they made an emergency ascent.

The only fish that would fit this description is the saberfish, however, it lives only in open water, it is an exclusively marine fish, and its presence in a blue hole is very unlikely. Since then, the rumors have subsided, and none of the divers have seen the monster in the blue hole.

Conclusion

Although Jacques Yves Cousteau refuted the theory artificial creation this hole by an ancient pra-civilization, how then to explain such an unusual shape of an amphora inside the hole? Recall that Jacques-Yves Cousteau, having conducted a study at the bottom of Lake Titicaca in 1969, similarly refuted the theory of a city at the bottom of the lake, saying that he did not find anything there. The settlement was found by an Italian underwater expedition thirty years later. Today, technology has advanced so much that it allows us to google maps at maximum magnification, see the outlines of ancient settlements at the bottom of many lakes in South America!

In 1972, there were no such technologies, and it made it impossible to thoroughly study the bottom of the hole, as well as the conclusion made by Zh.I. Cousteau, is his personal, subjective point of view. All these conditions give the right to the existence of a version about the intentional creation of this hole and giving it exactly this form inside by those who created it. Moreover, the cave system that connects the reservoir to the mainland casts even more doubt on the miraculous nature of this structure. And information about UFOs and the location of the hole near bermuda triangle only reinforce the opinion about the man-made Big Blue Hole.

blue hole is an underwater funnel that was formed as a result of the erosion of carbonate rocks and appeared as a dark blue circle of water in the ocean. Blue holes are usually found in low-lying coastal areas that once, thousands of years ago, were above sea level. The intense activity of karst - the process of dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, gypsum by rainwater or streams - creates large vertical caverns. When sea levels rise due to melting glaciers, some of these holes submerge. Due to their depth, blue holes have the dark blue color of water due to greater absorption of sunlight, which increases with depth. This creates a sharp contrast with the shallows around them and forms natural outlines that can be easily seen from the surface.

Great Blue Hole of Belize

The most famous blue hole is located off the coast of Belize, small country on east coast Central America. It is located near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 70 km from the mainland and the city of Belize. The Great Blue Hole is over 300 meters across and 124 meters deep. It was formed during several episodes of the Quaternary glaciation from 150,000 to 15,000 years ago. This popular place among recreational divers.

Dean's Blue Hole

Dean's Blue Hole is located near Clarence, Long Island, Bahamas. It is the world's deepest known blue hole. While most blue holes and craters reach maximum depth At 110 meters, Dean's Blue Hole is over 200 meters deep, making it quite exceptional. On the surface, Dina is roughly circular, with a diameter ranging from 25 to 35 meters. After descending 20 meters, the hole in the cave expands significantly to a diameter of 100 meters.

Blue hole in Dahab

This blue hole is located on the coast of the Red Sea, a few kilometers north of Dahab, Egypt. This is the second deepest blue hole in the world, with a depth of 130 meters. The Blue Hole has claimed the lives of many divers who attempted to travel through the tunnel through the reef (known as "The Arch") that connects the Blue Hole and open water sea at a depth of about 52 meters.

Blue Hole Gozo

The blue hole is located west coast Gozo islands in the Maltese archipelago, in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a hole 10 meters wide and 15 meters deep at the base of the rock. Under water, the blue hole is connected by a tunnel to the open sea.

Blue Hole Watling

Some blue holes are found on earth, such as the Watling blue hole, which is located on Bahama Island San Salvador. Despite its location in the middle of a rainy tropical island, the blue hole has no fresh water, suggesting that the hole must be connected to the ocean by an underground tunnel.

This article will focus on the so-called blue holes, which are underwater vertical caves that go down to great depths. From a bird's eye view, such caves most of all resemble dark blue, and sometimes almost black holes on the water.

On this moment dozens of similar caves are known, but the most famous of them are Great Blue Hole ( Great blue hole ), located in the center of the atoll known as Lighthouse Reef (Belize), and blue hole ( blue hole) , located near Dahab, in Egypt.

The Great Blue Hole became widely known after the exploration of Jacques Yves Cousteau and his team. It was Cousteau who first explored this underwater cave, the ceiling of which collapsed several millennia ago. The diameter of the blue hole is about 300 meters, and the depth of the cave reaches almost 120 meters. Due to its size, this blue hole is considered the largest in the world and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Great Blue Hole formed over 10,000 years ago, at a time when sea levels were much lower. Soon the ocean began to rise and the cave was flooded. Its ceiling could not withstand the pressure of the water and collapsed ...

Today this place is incredibly popular among divers. Even Jacques Yves Cousteau, while studying the cave, made several notes of places where, in his opinion, it is best to dive. You can get to the Great Blue Hole either by using a boat or motorboat, or by signing up for one of the many tours.

Visiting the Great Blue Hole is already interesting in itself, but you will get the most vivid impressions from diving into its depths. Divers dive to a depth of 30-40 meters, where they can fully enjoy all the beauties underwater world. Colorful exotic fish scurrying back and forth, and beautiful underwater landscapes - all this awaits you at the bottom of the Big Blue Hole.

Many inexperienced divers underestimated the complexity of the underwater route, and this led to sad consequences ...

Not far from the popular tourist resort of Dahab, located in Egypt, in the Red Sea, there is another unique underwater vertical cave, the Blue Hole. This bright natural attraction of the Egyptian coast, like a magnet, attracts divers from many parts of our planet.

At first glance, the traditional route, consisting of diving in coastal waters and moving at a relatively shallow depth along a coral reef, does not pose any particular danger even for recreational divers. But this impression is misleading, because the water corridor of the Blue Cave has great length than it appears visually.

Often inexperienced divers dive in the Blue Cave with only one oxygen tank, putting their lives in danger.

In memory of the people who died in this underwater cave, a memorial was erected on the coast, and signs with the names of the dead were no longer installed on it, so as not to scare away vacationers.

I would like to mention those divers who managed to overcome blue cave without scuba gear in the same breath. This list of daredevils includes the Austrian Herbert Nietzsch, Bivin from South Africa, as well as the Russian woman Natalia Molchanova and her son Alexei. And Canadian William Trubridge managed to overcome this distance even without a wetsuit and fins and became the first person on Earth to overcome a depth of 100 meters without assistance.

As for the named cave, it got it because of its amazing sky color, alluring beauty. But locals do not venture to swim in this place, they call it cursed.

On this occasion, there is even a legend according to which a very long time ago the sheikh ordered his daughter to be drowned here, because he found out that during his absence, the daughter debauched and drowned her lovers, thus hiding the defamatory connections. Before her death, the sheikh's daughter said that she would take to the seabed everyone who dared to swim in the Blue Cave. But these mystical legends do not frighten diving enthusiasts; every year thousands of divers conquer these dangerous depths.

French freedriver, world champion Guillaume Nery broke all existing records, and without the help of fins and scuba gear reached the bottom of Dean's Blue Hole. Having sank to its bottom, Neri rose to the surface by "free climbing".
This video was filmed by professional diver Julie Gauthier, who also did not use any oxygen devices, but was wearing fins.

Diving enthusiasts, and just beautiful places planets do not pass (or rather, do not float) past the famous Big Blue Hole, located on the territory of the state of Belize in Central America.

Great Blue Hole on the map

geographic coordinates 17.316001, -87.534779
distance from the capital of Belize, Belmopan, is approximately 130 km
the distance to the nearest airport in Belize city is about 75 km

The Great Blue Hole is nothing more than a limestone geological formation in the form of a funnel about 120 meters deep and 305 meters in diameter. Of course, it is best to observe such an amazing natural depression from a bird's eye or helicopter flight. It is from a height that the striking regularity of the boundaries appears before you in all its splendor. There were even legends that this is a huge tank in which "someone cunning and big" kept something. But the greatest French researcher Jacques Yves Cousteau only laughed at such a theory and in 1972 proved natural origin this phenomenon by diving in small submarines to the bottom of the depression.

Colleagues of the Frenchman found stalactites located at an angle of about 10-12 degrees (this also confirms that there were significant geological shifts here). In the course of studying the Hole, a more logical theory of its occurrence appeared. Most likely, this is a collapsed limestone cave, formed in the last glacial period. Due to the change in the level of the ocean, the roof of the cave collapsed. As a result, we have another amazing place on our small but very cozy planet.
Once again, UNESCO citizens who appreciate such wonders have put the Great Blue Hole on their favorite World Heritage List.
You can get to the Blue Hole by boat or a simple motor boat. True, you will have to overcome about a hundred kilometers along the water surface.

It's no secret that this place is both attractive and dangerous. Fans of scuba diving often descend into caves at a depth of about 70 meters, where underwater labyrinths are found. But there were cases when people wandered for a long time and even got lost in narrow passages. For example, the skeletons of three people were found in one underwater cave. Who they are is unknown, but with a high degree of probability, they are lost divers who could not find their way to the surface.

Be careful when diving. Usually divers descend to a depth of no more than 30 meters, since all the most interesting things are concentrated just to this mark. Below this level, oxygen, and with it the extraordinary marine life, becomes much less.