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Largest underwater cave system found in Quintana Roo

By finding the link between two underwater cave systems, the GAM project has found the largest underwater cave system in the world

Courtesy of Herbert Meryl/GREAT MAYAN AQUIFER PROJECT
15/01/2018 |15:34
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The exploration group of the Great Mayan Aquifer Project (GAM) has managed to find a link between two of the largest underwater cave systems in the world: Sac Actun and Dos Ojos , both located in Tulum, Quintana Roo.

GAM began the project of mapping the underground caves in May 2017 but the director of the exploration project, Robert Schmittner, had been searching for the connection of these two systems for 14 years.

The GAM Project informed through a statement that the discovery of this link would dethrone the system of Ox Bel Ha, located in the south of Tulum and measuring 270 kilometers.

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In the second place was Sac Actun, with 263 km; Kook Bal was third, with 93km; and in the fourth place was Dos Ojos, with 84km.

According to spelunking laws, when it is found that two cave systems or more are linked, the name of the largest will prevail, reason why after this discovery Sac Actun will have a total length of 347 kilometers of underwater caves – the distance between Cancun and Chetumal, approximately.

The exploration group has also recorded a system with a length of 18km, so far called “the mother of all cenotes” which has a maximum depth of 20m and is located north of Sac Actun.

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