Blue Holes

From: Andrew Bales
Series: Into It
Length: 01:50

Exploring the secrets of these ancient flooded caves from Australia to Egypt to Belize. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Blue Holes
From: Andrew Bales

Great_blue_hole_small Exploring the secrets of these ancient flooded caves from Australia to Egypt to Belize.

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Piece Description

Broadcast History

August 16, 2011. 89.1 KMUW

Transcript

Blue holes are ancient, flooded caves. To date, over one thousand blue holes have been discovered both inland and in shallow waters from Australia to Egypt to Belize. These water-filled cylinders, like sink holes, are portals to vast caverns, forests of stalactites and stalagmites, hundreds of feet of sheer drop leading to winding tunnels that can branch out for miles.

In the Bahamas, Dean’s Blue Hole drops 663 feet. In Belize, the Great Blue Hole’s 1,000 foot diameter is guarded by a thin ring of coral called Lighthouse Reef. Sites around the world serve as both a playground for professional divers and a sheltered preserve for scientists.

Inland blue holes host troves of fossils and bacteria that are preserved in stratified water. Rain serves as a buffer between oxygen on the surface and the dense salt water below that preserves both fossils and organic life.

Navigating their way thr...
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