Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich

Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich
Map showing the location of Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich
Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich

Location in Mexico

Location Tulum Municipality, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Coordinates 20°17′55″N 87°24′13″W / 20.29861°N 87.40361°W / 20.29861; -87.40361Coordinates: 20°17′55″N 87°24′13″W / 20.29861°N 87.40361°W / 20.29861; -87.40361
Depth 71.6 meters (235 ft)
Length 67 kilometers (42 mi)
Discovery November 26, 1987
Geology Limestone
Entrances 36 Cenotes
Difficulty Advanced cave diving
Cave survey CEDAM, SAET

Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich (from Spanish and Yucatec Maya meaning "Giant Birdcage System") is an extensive water filled cave system connected with the Caribbean Sea via a coastal spring called a variety of names, including Casa Cenote for the restaurant located nearby, but also Cenote Manati, or Cenote Tankah. The explored cave system extends to approximately 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) inland from the coast. It is located 16.5 kilometers (10.3 mi) south of Akumal (Quintana Roo, Mexico).

For more than ten years the system was extensively explored by dedicated cave divers starting from Cenote Nohoch Nah Chich (20°17.92′N 87°24.22′W / 20.29867°N 87.40367°W / 20.29867; -87.40367 (Cenote Nohoch Nah Chich)) in 1987. Mike Madden of CEDAM Dive Center established the CEDAM Cave Diving Team principally to conduct annual exploration projects to focus on cave exploration, while a number of cave research efforts were logistically supported, with contributions in the fields of karst hydrogeology, water chemistry, microbiology, ecology, and archaeology.

The technique of establishing jungle exploration camps at newly found cenotes and cave entrances was developed and refined during many cave exploration projects, thus allowing cave diving exploration effort to continue more efficiently at the edges of the known cave. The main camp of exploration became Cenote "Far Point Station", located 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) from the coast, and 2.8 kilometers (1.7 mi) further inland than Main Base Camp situated at the main Nohoch Nah Chich Cenote entrance.

During the Nohoch 1997 expedition the 60 kilometers (37 mi) of total explored cave passage mark was surpassed. In early 2007, Nohoch Nah Chich included 36 cenotes and had a recorded length of 67 kilometers (42 mi) when it was connected into and subsumed into the 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) longer Sistema Sac Actun by the Sac Actun Exploration Team (SAET).[1][2] This portion of the system is now called the "Nohoch Nah Chich Historical section", where with 71.6 meters (235 ft) also the greatest depth of the entire system was reached at "The Blue Abyss".

See also

References

  1. ↑ John Roach (March 5, 2007). "World's Longest Underground River Discovered in Mexico". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ Quintana Roo Speleological Survey
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