Why Is There an Underwater Waterfall Off Mauritius?
🕐 7 min read | 🌍 Natural Wonders 🔒 Key Takeaways The underwater waterfall off Mauritius is actually an optical illusion created by runoff of sand and silt deposits sliding down a steep oceanic shelf. The effect is most dramatic when viewed from above — aerial or satellite imagery — because the contrast between shallow turquoise lagoon and deep blue ocean creates a falling-water illusion. The seafloor near Le Morne Brabant drops from roughly 150 metres to over 4,000 metres almost instantly, creating one of the steepest oceanic shelves near any inhabited island. Summer winds and currents in the Indian Ocean intensify the sand and sediment movement, making the illusion far more visible between November and April. Off the southwestern tip of Mauritius, something impossible appears to be happening: water seems to pour off the edge of the island and cascade into a bottomless abyss beneath the Indian Ocean. The underwater waterfall of Mauritius has baffled tourists, ...