Blue Hole (Castalia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue Hole |
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Postcard
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 Blue Hole
Location in Ohio
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| Location | Castalia, Erie County, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°24′21.4″N 82°48′24.7″W / 41.405944°N 82.806861°W |
| Type | anoxic pond |
| Etymology | From the color and the shape of the pond |
| Part of | Castalia Trout Club |
| Primary outflows | Sandusky Bay |
| Basin countries | United States (Ohio) |
| Max. length | 75 feet (23 m) |
| Max. width | 75 feet (23 m) |
| Max. depth | forty-three to forty-five feet (13.1 to 13.7 m) |
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The Blue Hole is a cool freshwater pond in Castalia, Ohio, in the United States. It's also a type of sinkhole called a cenote. For many years, from the 1920s to 1990, the Blue Hole was a very popular place for tourists to visit. About 165,000 people came to see it every year! Its location near Cedar Point amusement park helped make it famous.
Native Americans knew about the Blue Hole a long time ago. The first time it was written down was in 1760.
Contents
What Makes the Blue Hole Special?
The Blue Hole is about 75 feet (23 m) wide, which is like the length of two school buses! People loved its clear, bright blue water. Many thought it was "bottomless" because it looked so deep and mysterious.
How Deep is the Blue Hole?
Even though it looked bottomless, scientists have measured the Blue Hole. It is actually about forty-three to forty-five feet (13.1 to 13.7 m) deep. That's still as tall as a four-story building!
Constant Temperature and Water Level
The water in the Blue Hole stays at a cool 48 °F (9 °C) all year round. This is true even when there are big floods or droughts (when there's not much rain). The water level also stays the same, no matter the weather.
How the Blue Hole Gets Its Water
An underground stream feeds the Blue Hole. This stream sends out a huge amount of water every day. It flows into Sandusky Bay and then into Lake Erie. That's about 7 million gallons of water daily!
Why No Fish Live Here
The water in the Blue Hole has special minerals like lime, soda, magnesia, and iron. It is also "anoxic," which means it has very little oxygen. Because of this, fish cannot naturally live in the Blue Hole.
What is a Cenote?
The area around the Blue Hole is made of limestone rock. Over time, ground water dissolved parts of the limestone. This created a sinkhole that filled with water, forming a cenote.
Visiting the Blue Hole Today
The original Blue Hole that was a tourist spot is now closed to the public. It is on private land owned by the Castalia Trout Club.
However, there is another similar cenote nearby! It is owned by the Castalia State Fish Hatchery. This other blue hole is open for people to visit. It has become very popular since the first Blue Hole closed in the late 1990s.
See also
- Blue Hole (New Mexico)
- List of sinkholes of the United States
