Mexico’s Taam Ja’ Blue Hole is the deepest known underwater sinkhole in the world, researchers have discovered — and they haven’t even reached the bottom yet.
New measurements indicate the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole (TJBH), which sits in Chetumal Bay off the southeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, extends at least 420 meters below sea level.
That’s 146 m deeper than scientists initially documented when they first discovered the blue hole in 2021, and 119 m deeper than the previous record holder — the 301 m Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, also known as the Dragon Hole, in the South China Sea.
Blue holes are water-filled vertical caverns, or sinkholes, found in coastal regions where the bedrock is made of soluble material, such as limestone, marble or gypsum. They form when water on the surface percolates through the rock, dissolving minerals and widening cracks, which eventually causes the rock to collapse. Famous examples include Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, the Dahab Blue Hole in Egypt and the Great Blue Hole in Belize.
Blue holes are often deep and isolated from one another. Located in both inland and shallow coastal waters, they feature unique environmental conditions that can lead to high levels of biodiversity.
According to the livescience/ earth
