It looks like the ocean’s wearing contacts in San Blas
Well actually the answer, like all things in San Blas, is a combination of several factors including light absorption, depth, temperature, and microscopic phytoplankton. Warmer water has less oxygen then colder and the higher the temperature of the water the lower the amount of oxygen. These phytoplankton, plants like algae, require nitrogen and phosphorous as food and there’s not much in the shallow and warm waters of San Blas. So less microscopic life means the waters are less muddied or crowded and therefore much clearer. In addition, since the waters around San Blas are shallow, there is little of the thermocline effect that mixes warm top and cooler bottom waters that contain the nutrients that promote algae growth.
Light absorption also helps color the water. Sunlight, composed of electromagnetic radiation in colors from red to blue, is scattered by particles suspended and vibrating in the water. The shorter blue wavelengths scatter more effectively and are absorbed less rapidly than the longer red and orange wavelengths. Seawater appears blue for about 100 feet under the surface, and then becomes black with the absence of light. In essence, the sunlight performs a native dance with the warm and shallow water of San Blas to account for the blue hued sea.
The blue hues are bounced back to the surface making them more visible then the others. You can see the same effect in snow and ice that often appears bluish. By contrast the Red Sea is red because it contains algae that release reddish-brown pigments; the Yellow Sea is yellow because rivers fill it with mud; and the Black Sea is black because it is essentially landlocked, resulting in little oxygen near the surface and a bottom filled with hydrogen sulfide. So is it about time for you to experience these amazing blue heaven seas at the Dolphin Lodge in San Blas? You bet it is!