Stunning image reveals ‘world’s deepest blue sinkhole’ that China has HIDDEN on Google Maps
GOOGLE Maps and Google Earth are great ways to view lots of unusual places all over the world that you may never get to visit in real life.
Unfortunately, the world's deepest underwater sinkhole isn't one of them as the location is blacked out on Google Earth.
Dragon Hole is located near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
The reason for its location being hidden by Google is unclear.
The 1,000-foot-deep hole isn't exactly a secret.
It was revealed by China almost a decade ago and a few pictures of Dragon Hole can be accessed on the internet.
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However, typing its coordinates into Google Earth will get you no results.
Although Google has mapped a large majority of the world, it has to get permission from governments for certain content.
It often has to blur out military bases from Google Maps so they can't be easily found.
An area that's of national interest or one that could pose a security threat if revealed could also be blurred or blocked out.
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Google doesn't often blackout sinkholes though.
Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas is available to view clearly.
Dean's Blue Hole is the world's second deepest sinkhole after Dragon Hole.
Both holes have a distinctive deep blue color.
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Local fishermen were said to be the first to discover Dragon Hole before an underwater robot was sent to investigate it.
It's said to be largely oxygen-free so not a lot of life can survive in its depths.
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