Cool Geo-Pic: There's a Hole in the Ocean

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory.

Great Blue Hole, BelizePosted April 3, 2009
download large image (4 MB, JPEG) acquired March 24, 2009

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ...Surrounded by darker, deeper ocean waters, coral atolls often glow in vibrant hues of turquoise, teal, peacock blue, or aquamarine. Belize’s Lighthouse Reef Atoll fits this description, with its shallow waters covering light-colored coral: the combination of water and pale corals creates varying shades of blue-green. Within this small sea of light colors, however, lies a giant circle of deep blue. Roughly 300 meters (1,000 feet) across and 125 meters (400 feet) deep, the feature is known as the Great Blue Hole...."

" ...Believed to be the world’s largest feature of its kind, the Great Blue Hole is part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)....."

Full Article - Click Here

References / Credits:

Belize Audubon Society. (2008). Blue Hole Natural Monument. Accessed April 2, 2009.
ASTER. (2009, January 23). Great Blue Hole, Belize. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Accessed April 2, 2009.

World Heritage. (2009). Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. UNESCO. Accessed April 2, 2009.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 Team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: EO-1 - ALI