Blue Hole in Belize

Posted by Alex in Pictures, Travel & Places on July 25, 2007 at 1:23 am



Blue Hole, Lighthouse Reef, Belize


Belize Blue Hole from afar

About 60 miles from Belize City, there is a perfectly circular 1,000 (305 m) feet across and 400 feet (123 m) wide deep "Blue Hole." The hole, part of the Lighthouse Reef system, was once an opening to a cave system during the Ice Age – it is now a magnet for extreme divers:

For all the practical purposes the over 400-foot depth makes the Blue Hole a bottomless pit. The walls are sheer from the surface until a depth of approximately 110 feet where you will begin to encounter stalactite formtions which actually angle back, allowing you to dive underneath monstrous overhangs. Hovering amongst the stalactites, you can’t help but feel humbled by the knowledge that the massive formation before you once stood high and dry above the surface of the sea eons ago.

Dive Belize has the story: Link


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COMMENT

72 comments to "Blue Hole in Belize"

  1. k v
    July 25th, 2007 at 10:55 am

    what does "1000 feet across and 400 feet wide mean"? that would seem to mean it's a rectangle of some sort, but not even that is accurate.

  2. Lux
    July 25th, 2007 at 11:17 am

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipse

  3. The Slapster
    July 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

    I can't be "perfectly circular" and an ellipse a the same time, can it? Semantics aside, pretty damned cool!

  4. Belinda
    July 25th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

    Go back to Geometry.

  5. panzyfaust
    July 25th, 2007 at 8:20 pm

    From the quoted text in the article, it would appear that the "wide" statement was merely a typo and should have read "deep".

  6. chuck
    July 25th, 2007 at 8:41 pm

    how long has global warming been going on. i thought that the oceans were going to rise from the glaciers melting. this was dry land at one time?

  7. Ali S.
    July 25th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

    Oh. My. God.

    First the hole on Mars now another one pops up here on Earth? The invasion has begun!! O_O

  8. Matt
    July 26th, 2007 at 12:31 pm

    Did you know that the hole's only natural enemy is the pile?

  9. Travelin Foo
    July 26th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

    last time I was in belize I was robbed while in downtown Belize City before going out to the cayes where the blue hole is. read about it on my blog at lowerdown.com

  10. Jacques
    July 26th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

    Unless it's 1000' across, 400' wide and 400' deep, which would make it an cylinder.

  11. James
    July 26th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

    Just to clear up the comment about the "wide" issue. It is in fact supposed to be "deep."

    Site: http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/art/MAPblueholesm.jpg

  12. ben
    July 26th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

    You are so stupid! This hole need not fear any pile! I mean seriously, who has ever seen a 1000' wide & 400' long pile? Back to Stupidtown with you.

  13. Fishin Dog
    July 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm

    Very cool photo. Makes me want to go swimming.

  14. M. Vick
    July 26th, 2007 at 4:34 pm

    last time I was in belize I robbed a Blogger while in downtown Belize City before going out to the cayes where the blue hole is.

    Then I had Buttsecks with a pitbull.

  15. Ann Teliczan
    July 26th, 2007 at 11:25 pm

    Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.

  16. Jeff
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:40 am

    The earth has been warming quite steadily for many thousands of years. In fact, pre 1900 the average sea level has risen over 100 feet since 10000 BC, notably due to the massive glaciers melting. You can see evidence of that with the underwater cities being discovered in India. Global warming as defined by todays scientists is still real. The earth is warming, but now humans are accelerating that change.

  17. JahRage
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:41 am

    So what is the point of this whole?

  18. PhilipeThePitbull
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:48 am

    Last time I was in belize this pervert tried to hump me, I ripped of his dick and took his wallet, then I went out to the cayes where the blue hole is.

  19. toucan
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:49 am

    I come from Belize, and yep, it's a wonderful sight.

    It gives you that sense of mystery.... :)

  20. miketron
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:50 am

    this makes me want to goatse

  21. Eyenstyn
    July 27th, 2007 at 7:58 am

    That hole should be one of the wonders of the world.

  22. Optimus Grime
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:18 am

    ># The Slapster Says:
    >July 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
    >
    >I[t] can’t be “perfectly circular” and an ellipse a the >same time, can it?

    Yes, a circle is a type of ellipse.

  23. Transformer Fan Boy
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:31 am

    One time while I was heading out to the cayes where the blue hole is, I stumbled upon a maid. She said "I'll grant you three wishes."

    First, I wished for some rockin' sideburns. Second, I wished for some alone time. Third, I wished for a sweet ass like Jessica Alba.

    She granted my wishes and then we mugged a tourist.

  24. Dive Freak
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:37 am

    There is a same blue hole in Egypte, Near Dahab.
    Perfect diving as it is near the reefs edge, a crack in the wall get you to the outer reef which has a massive drop off. There you can see the big pelagics.

  25. daexuna
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:38 am

    here's an illustration of how the hole might look from the side
    http://www.belizetrip.com/trippic/BlueHole.jpg

  26. Dan
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:43 am

    >Optimus Grime Says:
    >July 27th, 2007 at 8:18 am
    >># The Slapster Says:
    >>July 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
    >>
    >>I[t] can’t be “perfectly circular” and an ellipse a the >same time, can it?
    >
    >Yes, a circle is a type of ellipse.

    But saying "Perfectly circular" implies that the diameter is the same all the way around. Yes a Circle is an Ellipse, but not every Ellipse is a Perfectly semetrical circle as implied by the article.

    AND FYI for anyone else, the 400ft Wide statement from the article is indeed supposed to be DEEP as referred to in the quoted text.

  27. anon
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:47 am

    Th-This is my hole! It was meant for me!

    DRR DRR DRR

  28. Ken Torbeck
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    Latitude: 17°18'56.54"N
    Longitude: 87°32'2.05"W

  29. Spider Pig
    July 27th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    Optimus Grime Says:

    > Yes, a circle is a type of ellipse.

    Yea but an ellipse is not a type of circle.

    It's quite obvious in the photo that its a circle and not an ellipse that is 400 feet wide and 1000 feet across.

  30. sfsdf
    July 27th, 2007 at 9:12 am

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=17%C2%B018%E2%80%B256 .54%E2%80%B3N++87%C2%B032%E2%80%B22.05%E2%80%B3W&ie=UTF8&ll=17.315571, -87.533913&spn=0.057113,0.080338&t=h&z=14&om=1

  31. sanjay
    July 27th, 2007 at 9:12 am

    Nice picture! There seems to be a large blue circle. Where is it located?

  32. Bob
    July 27th, 2007 at 9:18 am

    Actually, the 1000' wide is incorrect.
    The hole is actually 300' wide x 412' deep, roughly 1000' in diameter.

  33. netfast.nl
    July 27th, 2007 at 9:20 am

    sounds like a hole from a (nuclear?) bom to me...

  34. Willie
    July 27th, 2007 at 9:25 am

    I've done two dives in the Blue Hole... the light blue outer edge is shallow - less than 10 feet deep. it slopes down towards the edge and rapidly becomes a vertical drop. We dove to about 150' both times. It's loaded with sharks.

  35. Alexis Svenn
    July 27th, 2007 at 10:00 am

    Man that is a beautiful great hole, I would love to like drop out of a helicopter and plunge into its centre.

  36. James
    July 27th, 2007 at 10:05 am

    Mother Nature's Virgina

  37. Chris Taylor
    July 27th, 2007 at 10:08 am

    Actually, the 1000′ wide is incorrect.
    The hole is actually 300′ wide x 412′ deep, roughly 1000′ in diameter.

    Circumference ?? Diameter is the same as "wide" 300-400 feet wide would be 942-1256 ft circumference.

  38. james austin
    July 27th, 2007 at 10:48 am

    See that ring around the whole? Well story goes that it was more complete until Jacques Cousteau the "environmentalist/conservationist" decided to dynamite it so that he could get the Calypso inside for an overhead photo. A photograph that can be purchases as a post card.

  39. 10668844
    July 27th, 2007 at 11:29 am

    Thanks for showing me that.

  40. James
    July 27th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    I'm going to take a stab at it. 400 x 3.14 = 1256 Maybe the auther ment to say diameter and rounded down to the nearest thousand? I lost my keys in that hole if any one finds them give me a call. ;) By the way they were still in the car.LOL

  41. david (in belize)
    July 27th, 2007 at 4:12 pm

    OK stop with the damn geometry discussions you nerds, incase you missed it, it's about the magnificent natural aquatic formation stoopid. We have 2 blue holes in Belize, one is on land and the other is near the reef. Both are major tourist destinations, although the sea one is more magnificent. COME TO BELIZE AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES...and ah..it wasn't a pittbull it was a common mutt that stole your wallet travelling foo(l). The police apprehended the canine while attempting to use your credit card at a local ATM. He's serving 15 years for aggravated assault on a dickless tourist.

    Regards,

    Local Joe

  42. PatriQ
    July 27th, 2007 at 5:23 pm

    Ostias, que wapo! mecawenla, quien pudiera irse de vacaciones por allí y echarse un capuzón.

    EIIII , ALGUIEN ME ENTIENDE??? Putos yankis!!

  43. Alex
    July 28th, 2007 at 1:16 am

    Yup, it was a "word-po" it's supposed to be 400' deep.

    And did anon just make a Motherload reference?

  44. Matt
    July 28th, 2007 at 5:27 am

    Any comment regarding geometry which sounds moronic, is probably made by a fellow American. Most of the people here are literally stupid.

    Sorry about that. I can't do anything about them except ignore them and let them die off through the Darwin-Awards process.

  45. Kopach
    August 3rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    Where's the space slug?

  46. ICHIBANKILLA
    August 3rd, 2007 at 9:57 pm

    The Silver Surfer has arrived.

  47. ebaumsworldfucker
    August 4th, 2007 at 12:47 am

    dump garbage in there

  48. CherryRoad
    August 4th, 2007 at 1:33 am

    i dont know why but this creepes me out...
    i wouldnt go over it

  49. Trashmaster
    August 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

    Yeah, garbage. That would be a lot of trash. You know then divers could enjoy majestic mother earth and win a prize.

  50. richard
    August 4th, 2007 at 11:11 pm

    i used to see this in my dreamsit is a alien landing site but the drugs the doc gave helps now

  51. Andrew32
    August 5th, 2007 at 2:11 pm

    hahaha, i just got back from diving in Blue Hole, NM.

  52. Mdx
    August 6th, 2007 at 5:35 pm

    now all we need is a 400' long penis. volunteers?

  53. John Doe Eiley
    August 7th, 2007 at 12:34 am

    Americans are truly retards, they think that all natures wonders exist within the US. And yes that is true, only 20% of Americans hold a passport, thus only a maximum of 20% of the American population travelled outside the United States of Embarassment, why? Cause they don't want to go anywhere that is air conditioned and doesn't have a huge mall.

    Sad, sad set of planet-earth-destroyers.

    AND SANJAY THE BLUE HOLE IS LOCATED IN BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA YOU RETARD - READ.

    FYI:
    - Belize has the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere (largest living barrier reef in the world).
    - The only Jaguar Reserve
    - 3 of the 5 atolls that exists on planet earth.
    - we have 70% of our country as reserves.
    - etc...
    - not bad for a little country in the middle of nowhere, huh?

  54. captain megawiener
    August 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am

    yaaaarrr matey!! I have the 400' wiener! I frequent this place to set me pooch out to steal booty from tourists while I venture to the hole for s3x.

    Hey according to john doe, I must be retarded, i grew up in the US, so why not join in the idiocracy.

  55. fire
    January 8th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww it's huge 400 feet

  56. katt
    January 8th, 2008 at 8:08 pm

    oh my goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!400feet

  57. jackrooster
    January 15th, 2008 at 2:30 am

    This is not a natural formation.It all begun with the Atlanteans(Belialians to be exact) who used large light beams to drill into the earth's core in order to generate power.This caused a lot of instability in the earth's core leading to the earthquake the scientists speak about.Note that there are a number of other such Blue holes all over the world.

  58. braden
    February 1st, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    Jesus christ. How many people need lessons in spelling? Idiots.

  59. CHUPACABRAS
    March 12th, 2008 at 10:31 am

    DAMN THAT SHIT LOOKS FUCKING SCARY I WOULDNT WANT TO FALL IN THAT THANG BUT WHER IS IT

  60. blanco
    March 27th, 2008 at 4:00 am

    I went in the brown hole...and a star fish bit my brown hole and poopy came out

  61. Amber(an American)
    April 18th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    I happen to be an american and i offended by all the comments saying that americans are stupid. That is a stereo-type and not all americans are that way.

    But other than that...The blue hole looks AMAZINGLY COOL!!!But i was wondering does it cost to go see it? And what kind of sharks swim in the hole?
    -An American so to be in Belize-

  62. Israel
    June 24th, 2008 at 10:51 am

    I am amazed at the amount of commentaries a bloody single picture can generate...rubbish altogether...

  63. Kuntal
    July 4th, 2008 at 4:00 am

    Seems to be amazing... i wish i cud visit this blue hole once in my life...!! :-)

  64. Jimmy Vermeer
    July 21st, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Nobody said all Americans were stupid, just the ones who post here, give or take.
    First, as long as you have the Internet, you don't need a passport to learn about other countries.
    Second, why do people keep asking where the hole is when the article specifically states where it is?
    Third, some people here need basic geometry lessons. The "diameter" of a circle is the distance from one side to the opposite side. Not to be confused with "circumference", which is the perimeter of the circle. Does the hole look to you like a cylinder laying on its side? No? Then it isn't one. And if there is still any confusion over how big the hole actually is, why don't you go over there and measure it yourself?
    Fourth, if you don't know how to spell "vagina" why are you even mentioning it?
    Finally, using the Lord's name in vain is really unnecessary. So don't do it, at least not in public forums. There could be children reading this.

  65. Rodeney
    August 31st, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Maybe an intro into another Atlantis theory is needed to bring the tourists back?

  66. Saby
    October 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    I think that deans blue hole is better. Deans blue hole is more beautiful its deeper wider and its in a lagoon in clearer water. And its located on the most beautiful place on earth the bahamas ( Long iSLAND ) YOU dont get any better than that, Why visit the second deepest when you can visit the deepest in the world deans blue hole.

  67. e baker
    December 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    except for the glaring typo's,
    the info given is nearly a verbatim rip off
    national geographic wrote the exact text in 2002
    (google: national geographic picture of the day blue hole

    neatorama ain't so neat

  68. jamesm
    January 1st, 2009 at 9:51 am

    can you belize it ?

  69. Pandas
    February 1st, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    based on the evidence given in these comments
    I think it is safe to say that if you are an American idiot perhaps you shouldn't post here so that we can avoid stereotypes.
    I mean seriously...?
    no need to exacerbate the world's view of us right?

  70. your neighborhood pyro
    May 18th, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    damn there is some cool stuff here and there is this dude that called americans stupid so if he or she is reading this i will kill u when i find out where u live!!!!!!

  71. Mitch
    June 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 pm

    Reading these posts is very entertaining.

  72. Vairy
    August 12th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    Nice, but some of the people are very rude on this board. God bless the good.. an AMERICAN


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