The Underwater Waterfall

Off the south-western coast of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius lies a unique natural phenomenon: the underwater waterfall. Mauritius sits on a submarine plateau, which juts above the seabed level. The island was born in an ancient volcanic eruption and there is a steep drop-off into the deep ocean. A gap in the coral reef provides an avenue where white sand from the beaches is forced off the ocean shelf by the currents. The result is an illusionary waterfall as the sand falls off the shelf.