CNN crowns Belize’s Great Blue Hole among Earth’s strangest wonders
By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): When CNN went hunting for the planet’s most unusual landscapes, its editors gathered 24 of them, ancient twisted forests, erupting volcanoes, a pink lake, rock towers carved by millennia of wind. And to represent the whole strange collection, the image they placed at the very top was Belize’s own […] The post CNN crowns Belize’s Great Blue Hole among Earth’s strangest wonders appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
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By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): When CNN went hunting for the planet’s most unusual landscapes, its editors gathered 24 of them, ancient twisted forests, erupting volcanoes, a pink lake, rock towers carved by millennia of wind. And to represent the whole strange collection, the image they placed at the very top was Belize’s own Great Blue Hole.
The newly updated CNN Travel feature by journalist Joe Minihane spotlights the giant marine sinkhole off Belize’s coast as the lead entry among wonders spanning six continents, keeping company with Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway, the Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia in Turkey, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, the Chocolate Hills of the Philippines, and Australia’s bubblegum-pink Lake Hillier.
The numbers behind the fame remain staggering. At 300 meters wide, some 984 feet, and around 125 meters deep, about 410 feet, the Great Blue Hole is the biggest sinkhole in the world. Part of the Belize Barrier Reef System, it was formed as sea levels rose thousands of years ago, flooding its deep cave network and leaving the near-perfect navy circle that now stares up at every passing plane.
The feature nods to the man who introduced it to the world, renowned marine explorer Jacques Cousteau, whose expeditions made the Blue Hole a bucket-list pilgrimage for divers everywhere. And it notes the wonder is still giving up secrets: recent submarine trips have produced new 3D sonar maps revealing never-before-seen mineral formations near the hole’s bottom.
The CNN spotlight lands in a season when the world cannot seem to get enough of Belize. The country welcomed a record 1.4 million visitors, new nonstop routes from five more American cities begin this winter, and international media have spent the year discovering what Belizeans have always known, that this small country holds an outsized share of the planet’s magic.
Twenty-four wonders made CNN’s list. One of them is ours, and it made the cover.
The post CNN crowns Belize’s Great Blue Hole among Earth’s strangest wonders appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
