Blue Hole (New Jersey)
The Blue Hole is located in the Pinelands of Monroe Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey and Winslow Township, Camden County, New Jersey. It is a clear blue body of water situated in the middle of a dense forest, with many similar such lakes in its immediate vicinity. The water has warm and cold spots, averaging 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The color is very unusual, as most lakes and ponds in the area are brownish due to large deposits of bog iron and the presence of tannic acid. The Blue Hole is circular and about across. In the 1930s, the Blue Hole was a popular party and swimming spot. A wooden footbridge over the Great Egg Harbor River that once made the Hole easily accessible was wiped out by a storm in the 1960s; now it can only be reached on foot.
Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
Following European settlement of the Sydney area, the area was named the "Carmarthen and Lansdowne Hills" by Arthur Phillip in 1788. The Carmarthen Hills were in the north of the region and the Lansdowne Hills were in the south. The name "Blue Mountains", however, was preferred and is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. The tinge is believed to be caused by Mie scattering which occurs when incoming light with shorter wavelengths is preferentially scattered by particles within the atmosphere imparting a blue-greyish colour to any distant objects, including mountains and clouds. Volatile terpenoids emitted in large quantities by the abundant eucalyptus trees in the Blue Mountains may cause Mie scattering and thus the blue haze for which the mountains were named.