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DID YOU KNOW?
FACTS & FICTION WITH A MEXICAN TWIST
MARCH 2008

Did you know that...

  ... the deepest water-filled sinkhole in the world is in Tamaulipas?

By Tony Burton Copyright © 2008

As vertical shafts go, this is a seriously deep one! Long considered to be "bottomless" since no-one had ever managed to find the floor, we now know it is precisely 335 meters (1099 feet) deep, making it the deepest water-filled sinkhole anywhere on the planet.

The El Zacatón sinkhole is on El Rancho Azufrosa, near the town of Aldama in Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico. The sinkhole or cenote is one of several located in the same area, though recent studies have failed to demonstrate any obvious underground connections between them. The term cenote is a Spanish rendering of the Mayan word d'zonot, "a hole in the ground". The El Zacatón pit, which is about 110 meters (360 feet) across and roughly circular, contains a deep lake. The water is warm (averaging about 30^o C), highly mineralized and has a sulphurous odor. The name El Zacatón comes from the floating islands of grass (zacate) which blow across this lake from one side to the other with the wind.

 

The pit's depth has attracted serious divers for many years. In 1993, it was the site for Dr. Ann Kristovich's dive to a new women's world record depth of 169 meters (554 feet). The following year, two American explorers attempted to dive to the bottom of the sinkhole. Jim Bowden successfully reached a men's world record depth of 282 meters (925 feet) but still did not touch the bottom. Tragically, his diving partner Sheck Exley died during the attempt.

The mystery of the sinkhole's depth was finally solved in 2007 in a multi-million dollar exploration...

Read the complete article, with a photo...

Did You Know Index

Text © Copyright 2008 by Tony Burton. All rights reserved.


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