Dos Ojos

Dos Ojos is a flooded cave system located north of Tulum, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The exploration of Dos Ojos began in 1986 and still continues. The documented underwater extend of the cave system is at least 61 km (as of October 8, 2008, see Quintana Roo Speleological Survey for current numbers) and there are no less than 25 known sinkhole entrances, which are locally called cenotes.

Dos Ojos lies broadly parallel to and north of the now combined Nohoch Nah Chich/Sac Actun cave system and may one day be connected into it creating a combined length in excess of 213 km. Dos Ojos has remained in the top 10, if not the top 5 longest underwater cave systems in the world since its discovery in the 1980s. Dos Ojos contains the deepest known cave passage in Quintana Roo with 118 meters / 396 feet of depth located at The Pit cenote discovered in 1996 by cave explorers who came all the way from the main entrance some 1500 meters / 5000 feet away. The deep passages include the Wakulla Room, the Beyong Main Base (BMB) passage, Jills room and the next generation passage.

Dos Ojos is an anchialine cave system with connections to naturally intruding marine water and tidal influence in the cenote water pools. The coastal discharge point(s) of this cave system have not yet been humanly explored through to the ocean, although large volumes of groundwater flow towards Caleta Xelha, a nearby coastal bedrock lagoon.

The name Dos Ojos is Spanish for two eyes, and refers to two neighbouring cenotes which connect into a very large cavern zone shared between the two. These two cenote appear like two large eyes into the underground. The original cave diving exploration of the whole cave system began through these cenotes. Some of the underwater cave near Dos Ojos Cenotes was featured in a 2002 IMAX film, "Journey Into Amazing Caves". Parts of the Hollywood 2006 movie "The Cave" was filmed in the Dos Ojos cave system.

Water temperature is 25 °C (77 Fahrenheit) throughout the year and the maximum depth near the Dos Ojos Cenotes is approximately 10 m (30 feet). The water is exceptionally clear as a result of being rainwater filtered through limestone, and there being very little soil development in this region since the limestone is very pure.

Fauna

There are several varieties of fish living in the cavern, the majority of which are well under 10 cm (3 inches) long, and at least two types of freshwater shrimp.

In May 2007 there was an albino bat living in the cave, which the divemasters said they had not seen previously in over 13 years of diving the caverns.

Tourism in Dos Ojos Cenotes

The Dos Ojos Cenotes is a popular snorkeling and cavern diving site receiving typically a hundred or more tourists per day. The majority of cavern dives are at 5-7 m (15-20 feet). Most guided cavern dives include two dives in one day, with each being 45-minute long, and a 60-minute surface interval. It is possible to traverse underwater into another adjacent cenote called the Bat Cave, which is also used for snorkeling. Visibility is excellent and generally limited by available light rather than water transparency.

External links

* [http://addiator.blogspot.com/2007/01/bloggers-selection-dos-ojos.html Diving Dos Ojos]