Joel+Borland

Belize's Great Blue Hole

** Park Profile ** The Great Blue Hole is a massive underwater sinkhole about 985ft in diameter and 400ft deep. It’s the world’s largest natural formation of its kind and also one of the largest sink holes on earth. The Great Blue Hole lies in the middle of the shallow waters of Light House Reef, Approximately 60miles from the mainland. The site has about 60 inches of rainfall a year and average temperature of 76 degrees. 

** History **
 * Surrounding the Great Blue Hole are atolls which were believed to be discovered in the 16th century by the Europeans. The European explorers researched and explored the entire coastline of Belize’s reefs and also the Yucatan during 1528 to 1532. Ancient Mayas are also believed inhabited these atolls for more than 1,000 years.


 * The Great Blue Hole was formed by a major earthquake causing the ceiling to collapse forming the sinkhole. For millions of years the Blue Hole was a dry cave until the last ice age which ended thousands of years ago and caused sea level to rise and fill the sink hole with water. Thus is known as a natural site.


 * Jacques Cousteau made a big impact on making the Blue Hole famous when he revealed the secrets of the mysterious sinkhole to millions of viewers around the world in 1971 with the television series “The Undersea World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau”. Now the Great Blue Hole is one of the best scuba diving destinations on Earth.


 * The Great Blue Hole is protected by the Belize Audubon Society and is in fact a Belize National Monument. In 1997 it was recognized as a World Heritage site. In 1999 an agreement was signed between the Belize Audubon Society and the Government of Belize to co-manage Blue Hole Natural Monument. It is also part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, and again a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. media type="youtube" key="fPehnEcCCmE" width="425" height="350"

** Environmental Issues **
 * The air temperature in Belize is fairly warm all year round with only a rainy season from June to August.

The Blue Hole and the northern part of Belize lie within the geologic region known as Yucatan Platform. What make this site so beautiful is the clear crystal water and the contrast of the bright blue color of the water. The great depth of the Blue Hole creates a darker shade of blue, hence why they call it Blue Hole. The deeper you enter little light reaches into the Hole and not much water circulation is present. As a result little life is present but as you enter into the shallows immediately around the rim of the Hole, the water is rich with marine life. The marine life in these areas includes nurse sharks, giant groupers, and several types of reef sharks such as the Caribbean reef shark and the Blacktip shark. Around the Blue hole is also clustered with beautiful coral reefs which inhabit a variety of colorful fish and marine life. In the Hole you encounter stalactite formations and massive overhangs which slowly formed for thousands of years. The deeper you dive you encounter more bizarre and complex stalactites and limestone formations. Inside the Hole the water is motionless and visibility is often 200ft. The bottom floor of the Hole is covered with fine silt. The scenery inside the Hole is breathtaking.

** Recreational Activities ** The great Blue Hole is a world class destination for recreational scuba divers. The rich life under the water attracts visitors and divers from around the world. For more daring visitors skydive is also an option. In February 2005, eight people set out to be some of the first to skydive into the Belize’s Blue Hole.  <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 130%; line-height: 18pt;">Why come? The Blue Hole is truly a magnificent site, one of the largest sinkholes on Earth. Boats and expeditions are available throughout the year. If you ever get the chance you must come! Here are some comments from past visitors: <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 130%; line-height: 18pt; margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; msoaddspace: auto; msolist: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: symbol; msolist: ignore;">· A.R.T- “this was truly amazing! I have a friend that snorkeled there. He said you wouldn’t believe the beauty of it all!” <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: symbol; msolist: ignore;">· Tim odonovan – “I dove here about ten years ago. I try and tell my friends about the sharks and the awesome sights but they don’t believe me.” <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: symbol; msolist: ignore;">· James Dalton – “this is truly amazing place. I went there in 2001 and took a boat out there, it was absolutely amazing.”

Works cited: [] [] [] Jacob Scaff- I like the park you chose. Not enought information. Like the pictures however.

Enjoyed the blue hole; deeply interested in finding out more. Needs more writing.

I like how you stuck with the blue colors, an ocean tone throughout the whole page. Your page looks neat and informational, you don't have any animals in the habitat but other than that it's great! - Jaya

I like your use of pictures to show the park. Your information matched the rubric and had all the topics. You didnt have any links besides your work cited, but otherwise it had good information to explain the park. Good Job! Kylie Sjoblom