Last week, the Dragon Hole earned a new claim to fame.
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They announced Friday that 11 months of study have confirmed that an underwater sinkhole in the South China Sea crushes that record.
Until now, the deepest known blue hole was Dean’s Blue Hole, which is 202 metres deep and in the Bahamas in the Caribbean.
A blue hole is a roughly circular sinkhole, with the name reflecting the color contrast between the dark blue inside the hole compared with the light blue water surrounding it.
Researchers were able to determine the depth of the sinkhole by using an underwater robot fitted with a depth sensor.
Chinese scientists will continue to study the marine life within the hole, though due to its depth water beyond a certain level becomes oxygen-free, meaning few creatures are likely to be found in the very lowest reaches, scientists said. At 987 feet, it could almost swallow the Eiffel Tower, reports the Washington Post.
Blue holes were formed during previous ice ages.
The city has organized breeding and release of fish and sea turtles into the sea six times and cracked down on illegal capture of seabirds, according to Xu Zhifei, vice mayor of Sansha. According to Atlas Obscura, this underwater cave was made famous by one particular diver, explorer Jacques Cousteau, who in 1971 declared the site one of the top 10 best places for diving in the world.
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The newly discovered Dragon Hole is even more exceptional, reaching depths of nearly 1,000 feet.
