Divers Reach the Bottom of the Great Blue Hole and Uncover a Frightening Discovery

The world is full of wonders, some are mysterious and some even a little scary. One such place is the Great Blue Hole, a massive underwater sinkhole located 64 miles off the coast of Belize. It’s 407 feet deep and has fascinated scientists and adventurers for decades. Some even reached the bottom, and the discovery that welcomed them was surprising—and unsettling.

The Great Blue Hole is easy to spot. It’s a giant, circular opening in the Caribbean Sea, surrounded by a coral reef. Jacques Cousteau helped make it famous in 1971 when he explored it and called it one of the best dive sites in the world.

Jacques Cousteau wasn’t just a great explorer—he also co-invented scuba diving equipment and created some of the first underwater documentaries. His work inspired people to care about the ocean, and his grandson Fabien decided to continue that legacy.

Fabien Cousteau and Richard Branson used two submarines to explore the Great Blue Hole in 2018. As they descended, the sunlight faded, and by the time they reached 300 feet, they entered a layer of hydrogen sulfide. This layer made the water dark and murky, cutting off all light and oxygen. Below it, nothing could survive. As they reached the bottom of the sinkhole, they discovered sights they had never imagined.

At the very bottom of the Great Blue Hole, they found human-made trash. A two-liter plastic bottle was lying on the seabed, a sad reminder of how far pollution can reach. They also found a GoPro camera, which surprisingly still had footage from someone’s vacation.

Finding trash in such a remote and mysterious place was disappointing. It showed how even the most untouched places on Earth aren’t safe from human impact.

But the most shocking discovery was two sets of human remains. These were the bodies of divers who had gone missing years earlier while exploring the sinkhole. The team decided to leave the remains undisturbed and reported them to the Belizean government. This discovery was a sobering reminder of the risks of diving in such extreme and dangerous places.

As they continued exploring, the team found something else fascinating—stalactites. These long, icicle-shaped rock formations usually form in dry caves, not underwater. Their presence proved that the Great Blue Hole was once above sea level, thousands of years ago.

After the expedition, Richard Branson shared his thoughts, "The Blue Hole is made of a complex system of caves that once formed on dry land. It is proof of how oceans can rise quickly and catastrophically. Sea levels were once hundreds of feet lower. 10,000 years ago, the sea level rose by about 300 feet when a lot of ice melted around the world. At 300 feet down you could see the change in the rock where it used to be land and turned into sea. It was one of the starkest reminders of the danger of climate change I’ve ever seen."

Places like this remind us that our actions shape the future of our planet. It’s up to us to protect them from harm, so they can inspire and teach future generations. What we do today will decide their fate.

If discovering amazing new destinations excites you, explore our list of magical places that are worth a visit at least once in your lifetime.