Swallow Cave (Mexico)
| Swallow Cave
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 Cave climbers at the entrance to the Swallow Cave |
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| Location: | Sierra Madre Oriental , San Luis Potosí (State) , Mexico | |
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Geographic location: |
21 ° 36 ′ 1 ″ N , 99 ° 5 ′ 56 ″ W | |
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| Geology: | Karst | |
| Discovery: | 1966 | |
| Overall length: | 303 m | |
| Level difference: | 512 m | |
The Swallow Cave ( Spanish Sótano de las Golondrinas , English Cave of Swallows ) is the second deepest cave in Mexico. It is located in the rainforest about 15 kilometers by road west of the village of Aquismón , in the east of the state of San Luis Potosí . The first level is 333 m deep and has an upper opening diameter of approx. 50 m, which widens in a bell-shaped manner to approx. 150 m at the bottom. The second level is 512 m deep. The name is derived from the sailors (family Apodidae) that nest there; and green parakeets nest there.
From the valley town of Aquismón (82 m above sea level) you drive about 14 km up a road that reaches almost 1000 m above sea level, where a path branches off to the right back (eastwards) that goes 210 m and 51 m downhill to buildings (717 m), from which the mouth of the cave is another 200 m straight line forest path away.
The highest point of the mouth hole rim is 370 m above cave level 1. This consists of overgrown guano , in which a brook has dug itself 2 m deep.
The cave has long been known to the local Huaxtecs . The first documented inspection took place on December 27, 1966 by TR Evans, Charles Borland and Randy Sterns. The 512 m deep level 2, accessible only through a much narrower shaft, was only explored in 1969. In the meantime, the swallow's cave has become the target of base jumpers who jump into the opening of the cave with their parachutes.
Web links
- Bernhard Köppen: speleoclub-guano.de. Mexico 1998 - Sotano de las Golondrinas ( Memento of December 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) - text report of a visit
- Base Jumping Sótano de las Golondrinas (Cave of Swallows) # 2 Aquisimon, Mexico - via Aerial Extreme youtube.com, Trans-Americas Journey, published May 1, 2010, accessed July 8, 2018. - Video (4:34)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Google Maps, accessed June 9, 2018.
- ↑ William H. Russell, Terry W. Raines (1967): Caves of the Inter-American Highway ( AMCS Bulletin 1: Caves of the Inter-American Highway )