Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

Lost Blue Hole

The Lost Blue Hole is a circular vertical sinkhole sitting in roughly 12 meters of water on a sandy plateau several kilometers off the eastern coast of New Providence. The hole drops to over 60 meters and is bordered by a coral-encrusted rim where the bulk of the action occurs. The rim's first 15 meters are alive with schools of horse-eye jacks, snapper, grunts, and the occasional school of permit. Caribbean reef sharks patrol around the entrance, and eagle rays and turtles are commonly seen in the blue. In summer, juvenile schooling sharks sometimes congregate inside the upper rim. Recreational divers stay along the lip and the upper walls, while the deeper reaches drop into low light and require advanced training. Visibility is usually excellent and currents are mild, making the rim accessible to intermediate divers comfortable with depth and free water descents. The hole was rediscovered and named in the 1980s after operators searched the offshore plateau, and it has become one of the standard offerings for Nassau dive shops looking to combine shallow reef life with the geological drama of a sinkhole. Photographers value the contrast between rim coral and the dark vertical drop into the unknown.