The Yucatan Peninsula is renowned for its extensive internet of submerge burrow and caves . Now , after searching for near two decade , plunger with the Gran Acuífero Maya project have proven that two monolithic cavern are connected , making it the turgid known flooded cave on Earth .
The broken - elevation , limestone - laden expanse of the Yucatan peninsula is the perfect place for the formation of deluge underground caves — geologic feature the ancient Maya people touch to as “ cenotes . ” For the past 10 calendar month , a diving event team head by Robert Schmittner has been swimming through these labyrinthian passage , seek for a link that connect two gigantic cavern : the 163 - mile - recollective ( 263 km ) Sac Actun arrangement and the 51 - mi - long ( 83 km ) Dos Ojos system .
On January 10 , at a location near the archaeologic ruins of Tulum , the plunger finally rule the tough connection , testify that the two organisation are really one — a monster submersed cave system of rules that measure 216 Roman mile long ( 347 km ) . It ’s thought to be the large underwater cave arrangement on Earth .
Prior to the discovery , the Ox Bel Ha system , located just south of Tulum , was rank as the world ’s largest at 167 miles ( 270 km ) . According to caving name convention , when two cave system are found to interconnect , the largest cave absorbs the smaller one . So the Dos Ojos system of rules is no more , subsumed by the enceinte Sac Actun system .
During the survey , the plunger catalog 358 submerge cave systems , represent about 870 mile ( 1,400 klick ) of flooded tunnels . They also see a raw system , an 11 - mile - long ( 18 klick ) , 66 feet deep ( 20 meters ) cavern dubbed “ the mother of all cenotes , ” which was listed as an individual system . But the Gran Acuífero Maya squad claims that it ’s very close to connecting it with the Sac Actun System , too .
This work could shed light on the ethnic practices of ancient Mayans , who conducted ceremony and sacrificial offerings around the cenotes .
“ This immense cave map the most crucial submerged archaeological site in the world , as it has more than a hundred archaeologic contexts , among which are evidence of the first colonist of America , as well as extinct zoology and , of course , the Mayan culture , ” Guillermo de Anda , a researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History , said in a statement .
For the next stage in the project , the squad is hoping to take apart the quality of the water supply timber in the Sac Actun system , study the biodiversity that calculate on it , and set in motion conservation efforts to protect this over-the-top geologic feature .
[ Gran Acuífero Maya ]
divingGeologyScienceTunnels
Daily Newsletter
Get the well tech , science , and culture intelligence in your inbox daily .
News from the futurity , delivered to your nowadays .
Please take your trust newssheet and take your email to upgrade your inbox .
You May Also Like
