[Aztlan] Longest underground river found in Mexico

[daniel at elchicano.net]

Longest underground river found in Mexico
Email this storyPrint this story 2:15PM Friday March 02, 2007

MEXICO CITY - Cave divers in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula have 
discovered what may be the world's longest underground 
river, connecting two cave systems with a waterway at least 
154km long.

A group of foreign divers exploring the area near the 
Caribbean beach resort of Playa del Carmen have yet to name 
the stretch, but believe it could be connected to two other 
major systems, adding more than 200km to its length.

"It's a bit of the Star Trek syndrome: the thrill of 
exploration, to go where no one has gone before," said diver 
Steve Bogaerts, who helped find the underground river.

Prior to the discovery, the Palawan underground river in the 
Philippines and Vietnam's Son Trach River vied for the 
record as the world's longest.

The area in southeast Mexico is home to tourist resorts 
Cancun and Cozumel, as well as Mayan ruins Chichen Itza and 
Tulum. It sits on a Swiss-cheese subsoil of limestone dotted 
with deep wells that are entrances to tunnels that have 
fascinated divers for decades.

The local tourism board said 24,000 visitors went diving in 
the caves last year.

- REUTERS

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