Discovery Television has ranked the Great Blue Hole as #1 in its list of 10 Most Amazing Places In The World.
The list of geological wonders has Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave in the #2 spot, Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower as #3, the Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia in Turkey at #4, and the Forest Of Knives in Madagascar at #5.
1. The Great Blue Hole
The Great Blue Hole.
From the air, the Great Blue Hole of Belize resembles an otherworldly maw, intent on drinking down the surrounding Lighthouse Reef Atoll. In reality, the 1,000-foot (305-meter) wide hole is simply a sinkhole in the ocean. Geologists believe that an underlying cave system collapsed under increased pressure some 10,000 years ago due to rising sea levels.
The dark hole descends 412 feet (126 meters), terminating in light-less depths where a lack of oxygen prevents most forms of life from thriving. Divers rarely plunge these depths, however, as most are content to explore the stalactite-rich caverns accessible from depths of some 130 feet (40 meters) below the surface.
From hidden depths to towering vistas, these are just 10 of Earth’s countless geologic wonders — each more than a rival for anything dreamed up for fiction and fantasy. We live on a spectacular planet; you just have to open your eyes to it.
Explore the story about Earth’s amazing geology.