The
Great Blue Hole is a large underwater sinkhole off of the coast of
Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 45
miles from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is circular in shape,
over 1,000 feet across and 400 feet deep. It was formed as a limestone
cave system during the last ice age when sea levels were much lower. As
the ocean began to rise again the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed.
On-shore
caves of similar formation, as large collapsed sinkholes, are well
known in Belize.This site was made famous by Jacques-Yves Cousteau who
declared it one of the top ten scuba diving sites in the world. In 1971,
he brought his ship, the Calypso, to the hole to chart its depths.
Investigations
by this expedition confirmed the hole’s origin as typical Karst
limestone formations, formed before rises in sea level in at least four
stages, leaving ledges at depths of 70, 160 and 300 feet.
Stalactites were retrieved from submerged caves, confirming their previous formation above sea level. Some of these stalactites were also off-vertical by 10° - 13° in a consistent orientation, thus indicating that there had also been some past geological shift and tilting of the underlying plateau, followed by a long period in the current plane.
Source: http://bored-bored.com/articles-and-stories/great-blue-hole/