Hello severisth
It's the Great Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef Atoll, also known as the
Lighthouse Atoll.
"People in Belize think it should be one of the seven wonders of the
world. Dive boats visit it every day. It is protected by the Belize
Audubon Society and is a Belize National Monument. It became a World
Heritage site in 1997. Jacques Cousteau took the Calypso and his
one-man submarines into the hole in 1972 to examine stalactites
suspended from overhanging walls. The Great Blue Hole is surrounded by
shallow water of Lighthouse Reef Atoll, a nearly perfect circle in the
middle of a shallow reef. The atoll is located ~96 km east of the
Belize mainland. It is not an easy place to reach."
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2001/06/
"Part of the Lighthouse Reef System, it lies approximately 60 miles
off the mainland out of Belize City. It is one of the most astounding
dive sites to be found anywhere on earth, right in the center of
Lighthouse Reef is a large, almost perfectly circular hole
approximately one quarter of a mile (.4 km) across. Inside this hole
the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water which
gives the deep blue color that causes such structures throughout the
world to be known as "blue holes."
Like a giant pupil in a sea of turquoise, The Blue Hole is a perfectly
circular limestone sinkhole more than 300 feet across and 412 feet
deep."
http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/greatbluehole.html
"Getting to the Offshore Atolls: The country's three enchanting
atolls; the Turneffe Islands, Lighthouse Reef and Glover's Reef; are
30 to 60 miles off the coast. Many experienced visitors will tell you
the atolls present the most pristine underwater environment in all of
Belize. You can visit them several ways. There are excellent dive
resorts; weekly packages are available with the resorts transporting
guests to/from the Belize International Airport. Air service to the
atolls is available only for Lighthouse Reef; the other resorts
provide boat transfers. Resorts on Ambergris Caye, along the barrier
reef and in Belize City often feature day trips to the atolls for
snorkelers and scuba divers. Some atoll resorts also offer regular
outings to other atolls. A most exciting possibility is a week-long
excursion aboard a quality live-aboard vessel. Several of the world's
best live-aboards visit the atolls from their docks in Belize City."
http://www.skin-diver.com/Departments/DiveTheWorld/MexicoAndCentralAmerica/Belize/WritingtheBookonGreat.asp?theID=414
For those who don't want to spend hours getting to the atoll, there
are travel packages which will speed things up.
"Six miles north of Halfmoon Caye, in the lagoon of Lighthouse Atoll,
is the Great Blue Hole. The name alone will make it different from
some of the other "blue holes" to be found in the Caribbean. This one
is the largest, deepest, and most famous. Thousands of divers have
made it the reason they have come to dive in Belize.
In years past, diving the Great Blue Hole has been a strenuous day
trip requiring early departures and late returns in the dark. Hugh
Parkey's Belize Dive Connection is now offering the capability to go
out from Belize City, the most direct route and the most comfortable
route to dive the Great Blue Hole. The Great Blue Hole is almost due
east of Belize City about 45 miles as the crow flies. "
http://www.belizediving.com/bzediveconnect/dbluehole.html
A luxury resort which flies guests to the Lighthouse Reef area:
http://www.larc1.com/belize/lh_2.html
It looks amazing! I hope you will be able to go, and have a wonderful time.
Best Wishes - Leli
searches:
Belize atoll
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=belize%20atoll&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
"Great blue hole"
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22great+blue+hole%22&btnG=Search
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22great%20blue%20hole%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw
"Great blue hole" "getting to"
://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22great+blue+hole%22+%22getting+to&btnG=Search&meta= |
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