Dive Into the Blue Hole on December 2

The eyes of the world will be on Belize when the Discovery Channel broadcasts live direct from the Blue Hole this Sunday. Entitled Discovery Live: Into the Blue Hole, this two-hour special broadcast will air on December 2, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern (1:00 p.m. Pacific, 3:00 p.m. Belize time).

This historic broadcast will be covering a scientific expedition to map and analyze the mysterious depths of the Blue Hole. The largest sinkhole in the world and easily visible from outer space, the Blue Hole was once a vast cave system on dry land but became submerged following the end of the last great Ice Age. Today, it is one of the most popular scuba diving sites in the world.

The Blue Hole, also known as the Great Hole of Belize or the Belize Blue Hole, measures approximately 1,000 feet (300 meters) across and some 400 feet (125 meters) deep. Almost perfectly circular in diameter, the dark waters and twisting cave passages have made the Blue Hole a unique challenge for even the most advanced divers. Inside the Blue Hole, enormous stalactites and stalagmites can still be seen from when the cave formed on dry land over a million years ago.

The Discovery Channel has put together an all-star team of scientists and explorers to accomplish the historic mission to create the first-ever three-dimensional map of the Blue Hole. Included on the team is Fabien Cousteau, the grandson of French explorer and marine biologist Jacques Cousteau who first brought the Blue Hole to the world’s attention when he visited and partially mapped the site in 1971.

Other members of the 2018 team include Sir Richard Branson, the flamboyant British entrepreneur, and Erika Bergman, the pilot of the advanced Aquatica Submarines that will be using high-power sonar and advanced underwater cameras to map the Blue Hole. Scientists will also be taking soil and water samples in an effort to better understand this unique marine environment. Marine biologist Luke Tipple and Chris Jacobs will be hosting the two-hour Discovery Channel special.

Interested in diving the Blue Hole or some of the other amazing sites on the Belize Barrier Reef? Then stay at the beautiful Coco Plum Island Resort. Located on a privately owned island eight miles off the coast of Belize, Coco Plum has just 18 private cabanas situated just steps from the beach and is close to all of the top dive sites on the reef.