The great Blue Hole in Belize

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The “great” Blue Hole on Lighthouse Reef Atoll is a popular diving spot off the coast of Belize. Visible in a flyover, the hole is about 1,000 feet in diameter and 412 feet deep. The late Jacques Cousteau and a filming crew explored the underwater cave whose roof collapsed about 10,000 years ago.

The Blue Hole is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which covers more than 200,000 acres.
There are many blue holes off the coast of Belize, but the “great” Blue Hole on Lighthouse Reef Atoll is the one most visible in a flyover–and the most famous one for diving. The hole is about 1,000 feet in diameter and 412 feet deep.

The Blue Hole sits on the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, about 50 miles east of Belize City.

The late Jacques Cousteau and a filming crew explored the underwater cave whose roof collapsed about 10,000 years ago.

Diving in the great Blue Hole requires advanced skills. Divers descend to about 135 feet to explore the exotic wildlife and underwater features.

Some divers tour the lip of the crater, according to the Belize Tourism Board, which is about 60 to 80 feet underwater.

Coral and fish inside the great Blue Hole.

Coral and fish in the great Blue Hole.

A type of parrotfish in the Blue Hole, part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which covers more than 200,000 acres.

A sponge on the reef in the Blue Hole.

Glimpses of the underwater world inside the Blue Hole.

Blue-striped grunt fish thrive in the waters of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes the great Blue Hole.

A diver with elkhorn coral in the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System.

Sea turtles ply the waters of the barrier reef, a series of coral reefs off Belize.