Category : Science and TechPublished on: April 27 2023
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Scientists have revealed that they have discovered the world’s second-deepest blue hole in Chetumal Bay, off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
This huge underwater cavern is about 900 feet deep and its area is said to be around 147,000 square feet.
Blue holes are believed to be formed during the latter ice ages around 11,000 years ago and might have answers to life on other planets.
A blue hole is a massive underwater sinkhole that is hundreds of metres long, often the height of several skyscrapers and spanning areas that are bigger than cities.
They are believed to be formed during the latter ice ages around 11,000 years ago because of the erosion of limestone terrains. When seawater meets limestone, water easily permeates the rocks since they are so porous.
This enables chemicals in the water to react with limestone, eating it away. Once glaciers melted and seawater rose over time, water rushed into these caverns and filled them up, creating these sinkholes.
Blue holes get their names from their indigo centres and light blue perimeters.
In comparision, the deepest known blue hole of the world, which was discovered in 2016 in the South China Sea and is known as the Dragon Hole, is beleived to be more than 980 feet deep.
The Mexico blue hole has been named Taam Ja’, which means "deep water" in Mayan.
