Conde Nast Traveler is currently featuring an interesting article on the great blue hole of Belize on their website. The article which was published on October 5th 2015 is getting a lot of attention on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms on the Internet.
Ken Jennings, the author of the article states that the blue hole is a paradise for divers and photographers and might also explain the fall of the Mayan civilization in Belize.
Jennings writes:
Like other sea-holes or “vertical caves,” the Great Blue Hole in Belize’s Lighthouse Reef actually formed on dry land, during a past ice age when the sea level was a lot lower than it is today. The ground collapsed due to water dissolving limestone (your garden-variety eating-a-Florida-backhoe type of sinkhole) forming a big circular pit that was eventually submerged by the rising Caribbean. The striking contrast between the shallow, coral edge and the seemingly bottomless center gives these blue holes their colorful name.
The Great Blue Hole is a stunning jewel set in a ring of corals that measure 1000 feet across and 412 feet deep. It is believed to be the world’s largest blue hole and is a rich habitat for a variety of marine life like nurse sharks, reef sharks, black tip sharks and even giant groupers.
Read also: What It’s Really Like To Dive The Great Blue Hole and 5 Beautiful Photos of the Great Blue Hole
According to Jennings, the quick decline of the Maya civilization is still one of Mesoamerica’s great mysteries for historians and the Great Blue Hole might have the answers to what happened to the Mayans. Here is what he had to say about this theory:
Many have speculated that drought could have been the driving factor, since the Yucatan Peninsula lacks natural water reserves. Last year, sediment samples from the Great Blue Hole showed lower-than-usual deposits of titanium around 800 AD, when the Mayans suddenly abandoned their cities. Titanium in rock gets eroded into the sea by heavy rains, so low titanium levels mean a long spell of unusually dry, hurricane-free weather which might have doomed the Mayans’ crops.
A World Heritage Site, the Blue Hole is located near the center of Lighthouse Reef and is one of the most fascinating natural wonders in Belize.
For more information about exploring or diving the blue hole , feel free to chat with our Concierge at: concierge@chabilmarvillas.com or contact our Reservations Manager at: reservations@chabilmarvillas.com. Or perhaps you would like to call toll free from the US or Canada: 1-866-417-2377.
