Cave of Swallows

The Cave of Swallows, also called Cave of the Swallows ( _es. Sótano de las Golondrinas), is an enormous pit cave situated in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The entrance lies along a sloped section of karst, is elliptical in shape, and measures approximately 160 by 205 feet (49 by 62 m).cite book | last = Russell | first = William H. | coauthors = Terry W. Raines | title = Caves of the Inter-American Highway | publisher = [http://www.amcs-pubs.org/bul/bul1.html Association of Mexican Cave Studies] | year = 1967] The entrance is undercut around its entire perimeter, and the pit opens up to a room that measures approximately 995 by 440 feet (303 by 134 m). The low point of the entrance provides a 1094 feet (333 m) freefall drop to the bottom of the cave while the high point provides a 1220 feet (372 m) freefall drop. These measures make it the largest cave shaft in the world, second deepest pit in Mexico and the 11th deepest in the world. [cite web
url=http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/06summer/cover_article1.shtml
title=Pits in Potosi
publisher=National Outdoor Leadership School
work=The Leader
first=Louisa
last=Hunker
accessdate=2007-04-12]

History

The cave is known to have been shaped by the erosion of water in a fault of an impermeable limestone plain, and is roughly conical in overall shape. The cave was discovered on 27 December 1966 by T. R. Evans, Charles Borland, and Randy Sterns. Verify source|date=April 2008

Etymology

The cave is known by the native name of "Sótano de las Golondrinas", which means "Basement of the Swallows", because of the large number of birds living in holes in the cave's walls. Cite web|url=http://www.showcaves.com/english/mx/caves/Golondrinas.html |title=www.showcaves.com |accessdate=2007-04-08] These birds are White-collared Swifts, called vencejos in Spanish, and Green Parakeets, locally known as the periquillo quila. To free themselves from the cave, the birds fly in circles around the cave, gradually flying upwards until they are able to reach the surface and the sky. The birds do this each morning, and the exodus has become part of the tourist attraction.

In the evenings, a large group of swifts will circle the entrance to the cave. About once a minute, a group of perhaps fifty will break off and head straight for the entrance. Once they cross the edge, they pull in their wings and free-fall into the cave. They extend their wings and pull out of the dive once they reach the height of their nests..

Tourism

The cave's depth draws many tourists to the area. It is deep enough to allow BASE jumping from the mouth, and a person without a parachute would take approximately 12 seconds to fall from the top of the cave to the bottom. Cite web|url=http://www.troyhartman.com/cave_of_the_swallows.htm|title=Troy Hartman.com|accessmonthday=8 April|accessyear=2007] As a result, many extreme sporting enthusiasts accept the challenge to base jump from the mouth of the cave. Cite web|url=http://www.aerialextreme.com/stockvidio.html|title=Base Jumpers|accessmonthday=8 April|accessyear=2007] There also has been a recorded instance when an average-sized hot air balloon was navigated inside of the convert|160|ft|m|sing=on wide mouth of the cave.Cite web|url=http://www.lumika.org/mexico/landmarks/22.htm|title=www.lumika.org|accessmonthday=8 April|accessyear=2007]

The cave is also a popular Vertical Caving destination. Rappelling to the bottom of the cave typically takes a few minutes, and ascending back out an hour or more. The high side of the entrance is covered in heavy foliage, so cavers will typically fix their rope on the low side, which is clear of obstructions and easily accessed.

Description

Inside the cave, temperatures can become cold. However, around the mouth of the cave, vegetation grows thickly.Cite web|url=http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/publicaciones/publi_prodigios/so_golondrinas/so_golond.htm|title=redescolar.ilce.edu.mx|accessmonthday=8 April|accessyear=2007|language=Spanish] Rains can become problematic for people, as the cave's mouth becomes like a waterfall as rivers of water cascade into the cave.

References

BBC Planet Earth "Caves" - base jumping into the void

ee also

*List of caves

External picture links

* [http://www.troyhartman.com/cave_of_the_swallows.htm Troy Hartman's Wish List]
* [http://www.hoehlenfoto.de/Galerie/Gastfotografen/Gaspard/Bilderlinks/drittesvertikal.htm Gaspard Magarinos]