In 1991, a group of Peruvian speleologists organized an expedition to the area of the Brazilian Rio Sinju River. There is a system of underground caves 300 meters deep. They have been little explored, as they are located in impenetrable jungle.
In these places in 1925, the expedition of English Colonel Percy Fawcett disappeared. For several years, the colonel explored this area on behalf of the English Royal Geographical Society. According to his testimony, in the impenetrable jungle lived a wild tribe of light-skinned people who lived in caves underground. It is curious that they had a hypertrophied sense of smell, like that of animals. Thanks to their instincts, the Indians learned about the invasion of their territory by strangers when they were still far away. They carefully guarded the entrances to their underground dwellings.....
After the disappearance of Colonel Fawcett, a new expedition was sent to search for him in 1926, but no traces of the missing researchers were ever found. Maybe the British were captured by a wild tribe? Most likely, they lost their way and died.
According to one version, the underground caves in the floodplain of Rio Xinju, to which the expedition of speleologists were heading, could be the underground dwellings of the light-skinned people mentioned by the colonel.
The legend about the existence of underground cities in the jungles of South America is very tenacious. Allegedly, they were built by the surviving inhabitants of Atlantis, who, after the disaster that destroyed their island, moved to the mainland. The gods helped them in this, laying twelve paths across the sea. It can be assumed that the tribe that Fawcett met were descendants of the Atlanteans or, according to another version, the builders of the underground cities died long ago and their homes were inhabited by a wild tribe.
As you know, the Spanish conquistadors under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro conquered the lands of the Incas in the 30s of the 16th century. In his reports to the Spanish king, Pissaro reported that he had discovered entrances to underground tunnels located on Guascaran, the sacred mountain of the Incas, at an altitude of 3800 meters above sea level. The entrances were closed with giant stone slabs. History is silent whether Pizarro managed to enter the tunnels and what he found there.
The cavers of the 1991 expedition were very well equipped with ropes, winches, powerful lamps and other equipment necessary for exploring underground caves. The latter turned out to be indescribably beautiful. Countless stalactites of all kinds of colors hung from the vaults. Stalagmites rose towards them from below, forming bizarre columns. Streams flowed down the walls, filling the underground grottoes with melodious murmurs. In the caves, researchers discovered rare bright red algae. They formed extraordinary patterns on the stone walls, similar to lace. However, no traces of human presence were found in the grottoes.
At a depth of 70 meters, the group’s path was blocked by a huge stone slab. Its surface, in contrast to the surrounding walls of the cave, was very smooth, which suggested an artificial origin. With the help of a winch, the huge stone was moved from its place. It turned out that the slab rotated around stone balls, which acted like door hinges. Behind the slab there was a long tunnel going down at an angle of 14 degrees. The cavers illuminated the darkness with powerful spotlights. The floor of the underground corridor was paved with small slabs that fit exactly together. On the surface along the walls, two hollowed out gutters were found. One of the researchers suggested that they could be used as rails along which the wheels of a loaded cart rolled, similar to those used to transport coal from adits in mines. On each slab there was a carved image of a bird similar to a peacock.
In 1991, cavers did not reach the end of the tunnel. Reports of the discovery of a mysterious underground structure caused a lot of noise and interested scientists around the world. In 1995, an international expedition was organized with the participation of not only speleologists, but also historians and archaeologists from different countries. It turned out that the underground tunnel stretches for 90 kilometers, and finally goes under water. The researchers were surprised to discover that the water was salty. It really turned out to be sea, since part of the tunnel was 10 meters below sea level. There were several small islands along the coast, and it was likely that the tunnel led to one of them. It was never possible to find out where it ended.
Based on the data obtained by the expedition, scientists concluded that the construction of the discovered tunnel required knowledge that was inaccessible to the inhabitants of ancient Peru, including the Incas, whom Pizarro conquered. In addition, as historians have established, images of birds resembling peacocks on the slabs are not typical for any of the peoples of South America, both ancient and modern. Some evidence indicates that the tunnel was built before the rise of the Inca state. A number of scientists believe that it owes its existence to the Atlanteans who survived the global cataclysm. Others are of the opinion that the tunnel was built by representatives of some unknown nationality who died after the water flooded it.
The famous Peruvian researcher of the ancient cultures of South America, Jorge Perez, considers it likely that the tunnel was built by the builders of Tiahuanaco and the huge megalithic monuments. The Indians of this tribe lived in the mountains on the shores of Lake Titicaca and were the ancestors of the Incas. Perhaps there are underground tunnels of enormous length, originating under the ruins of Tiahuanaco and reaching distant points of the continent.
Interesting is the testimony of the 15th century Spanish chronicler Cristobal de Molina, who arrived in South America with the conquistadors. He reports on a peculiar legend of the indigenous Indian population. The myth tells of the almighty Father of humanity, living in the underworld. Having completed the act of creation of all things on Earth, God went into his underground world. There are similar myths about underground gods in China and among the peoples of Northern Siberia. In subsequent years, attempts were made to find a way out of the underground tunnel on islets along the coast of Peru. All of them were unsuccessful. In 1998, another Peruvian expedition to the underground caves was launched. Unfortunately, the researchers were completely disappointed. There was a collapse in the cave system, and access to the tunnel entrance was blocked by a huge mass of stones. To clear the colossal rubble, you need special equipment, the delivery of which to a remote mountainous area is impossible. The secret of the tunnel has not yet been revealed. There remains hope that it will be possible to solve it in the future.
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Date: 10/04/2009 at 00:48
Tags: worldextreme, peru, travel, expedition, tunnels, Incas
Category: Tunnels
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There was always something mystical about caves and underground tunnels. After all, to some extent, these are doors to the body of the Earth.
Among some researchers of the depths of the earth, there is a strong belief that under the surface of the Earth there is a whole system of tunnels and corridors that go into the very depths of our planet. And here the main question is not even how far these moves stretch. It is important to understand who built them and where they lead.
Some believe that the tunnels can lead people to long-lost cities. They were once inhabited by ancient civilizations, perhaps the predecessors of Atlantis. There is also a version that these underground shelters housed bases of extraterrestrial civilizations. Finally, it is believed that similar systems are used by governments.
The latest version is the easiest to believe. The authorities of almost all major countries have advanced underground bunkers and defense facilities. But there is nothing mystical about this.
In 1985, Search magazine published a story by a high-ranking, anonymous US Navy officer who said that the military had discovered a huge network of tunnels under much of America's West Coast. Nuclear submarines have been reported to explore some of these spaces. Moreover, one famous submarine swam so far underground that it got lost and disappeared from radar forever. Then two more submarines disappeared - U.S.S. Thresher and U.S.S. Scorpion.
There were other similar cases. A pair of archaeologists from Bishop, California, discovered a vertical hole in the ground while searching for cave paintings. The researchers went downstairs and noticed that the corridor was becoming horizontal. At the end of the path, they came across an image of a face with water flowing from its mouth. Suddenly the water began to pour in for real, so the scientists had to quickly leave the tunnel.
In West Virginia, workers found caves with strange hieroglyphs on the walls. People also claimed that they heard strange sounds from somewhere below, as if there were huge machines working there.
Most reports of the underworld come from Brazil. So, recently two researchers returned from the vicinity of Ponte Grosse, where they spent five whole days in underground tunnels. There they discovered an entire city inhabited by 50 adults and several children. Many residents of the country talk about such cities.
A karst sinkhole is a sinkhole reaching tens of meters in diameter. Groundwater gradually erodes the soil, and, in the end, the thinned top layer cannot stand it and goes underground. A karst sinkhole in a crowded area can turn into a real disaster. However, this happens not only in cities, but also in the wild. And every karst sinkhole becomes a reminder to us that the Earth is not always favorable to its inhabitants.
Karst sinkhole in Guatemala
This failure formed in 2007 in Guatemala City. A funnel about 100 meters deep captured several houses and claimed the lives of 5 people. As it turned out later, the cause was not natural phenomena, but a break in sewer pipes: the liquid that leaked from them washed away the ground under the city. According to local experts, this happened because the pipes were not repaired for too long. Due to the threat of further collapse, authorities evacuated about 1,000 people. Elimination of the consequences cost Guatemala $2.7 million.
Another sinkhole in Guatemala
The next sinkhole occurred in Guatemala in 2010. About 70 meters deep, the crater carried away a significant part of the city block, killing 15 people. The large number of deaths was due to the fact that there was a working factory in the crater area. This time, the authorities attributed the failure to natural causes, but local residents are still convinced that bursting city pipes are to blame here too.
Great Blue Hole, Belize
One of the most famous sinkholes in the world is the Great Blue Hole in Belize. This is an underwater hole that divers love. The Blue Hole was formed during the Ice Age. The process of its formation began 150 thousand years ago, when the level of the World Ocean was significantly lower. The width of the hole is about 300 meters, the depth is about 100. The Great Blue Hole became famous thanks to Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who dived into it in the 1970s. Exploring it remains a dangerous undertaking, and diving into the depths of the Great Blue Hole is recommended only for very experienced divers.
Red Lake, Croatia
Red Lake in Croatia is an impressive karst sinkhole 530 meters deep. According to some reports, it was formed on the site of a huge cave, whose arches collapsed, washed away by groundwater. In May 2017, a French diver announced that he had managed to dive to the bottom of the lake, which occupied only part of the failure. As it turned out, it is located at a depth of 24 meters.
Cave of Swallows, Mexico
The Cave of Swallows is one of the most famous karst caves in the world. The entrance to it, a 62-meter hole, is on the surface. Through it, speleologists descend on ropes to a depth of almost 400 meters. The Swallow Cave is one of the few karst sinkholes that can be studied in detail from the inside, which is why it is especially popular among researchers. And also among BASE jumpers jumping to the bottom with their high-speed parachutes.
Sotano del Barro Cave, Mexico
The name of this 450-meter-deep cave, located in the Sierra Gorda mountains, does not sound romantic when translated - “clay cellar.” It is unique in its location right in the middle of the mountain: it seems that a huge meteorite hit the mountain, creating a hole. In fact, the cave was formed due to tectonic movement of plates and groundwater approximately 1.5 million years ago.
Sinkhole in Whitner Park, Florida
This sinkhole formed in Winter Park, Florida in 1981, destroying several buildings. Fortunately, the formation of the hole was gradual, and all residents managed to evacuate before the ground collapsed. After the disaster, it turned out that back in 1972, experts warned city authorities that excessive development in the area could lead to a karst sinkhole due to the characteristics of the soil. Then no one took these words into account. Ten years later, the authorities had to pay for the deafness with millions of dollars spent on eliminating the consequences of the disaster.
Lake Kingsley, Florida
There are many sinkholes in Florida, but Lake Kingsley is the most famous of them. Local residents often call this lake with a diameter of about 3 kilometers the “silver dollar” for the perfectly round shape of its shores. According to legend, the lake got its name from Captain Kingsley, who, fleeing from the Indians, swam from one shore to the other with his horse. True, there is another, less romantic version, according to which the lake was named after the famous slave trader who lived here.
Harwood Cave, New Zealand
New Zealand's Harwood Cave is considered the deepest vertical cave in the world. The height of its main mouth is 183 meters, and the total depth with side branches is about 357 meters. Through underground passages it connects with another famous cave - “Starlight”. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand. Tourists literally climb down ropes non-stop to admire the beauty of the cave. The cave was formed in the most traditional way for karst sinkholes - through the gradual erosion of the soil by underground waters.
Karst failure in Bereznyaki
The karst hole in Bereznyaki is the result of human activity. The city was built on top of an old mine. Over time, the mine was closed - and a few years later, underground water washed away the mine arches and they fell down. This failure still exists today; locals affectionately call it “Grandfather.” And around it, more and more new failures appear every now and then, including the one in the photo, located next to the local school. At one time, the issue of relocating Bereznyaki was actively discussed, but for now the locals, accustomed to constant failures, live in familiar surroundings.
Gypsum Cave in Utah
Hidden deep in the Cathedral Valley Desert, this cave is relatively small in size: the entrance diameter is 15 meters, the depth is 60 meters. However, it is very loved by tourists, primarily due to the landscapes surrounding it. Around the cave there are huge stone monoliths, and streaks of solidified lava from an ancient volcano that erupted 20 million years ago are visible. It is forbidden to go down into the cave from above, as well as to come close to the edge: the soil around the entrance is unstable and can collapse underfoot at any moment, carrying a person to deadly depths.
Underwater lake Vouliagmeni, Greece
This sinkhole at the bottom of the sea is often called the “devil’s well.” Many divers died here: the internal tunnels inside the 32-meter-deep underwater pit are long and winding, and people got lost there more than once, eventually being left without oxygen and dying. However, the popularity of this underwater cave is growing every year. Divers constantly come here, hoping that with their joint efforts they will be able to create a complete map of the “devil’s well,” which has not yet been fully explored.
Xiaozhai Tianken, China
Xiaozhai Tianken, also known as the "heavenly pit", is considered the deepest sinkhole on Earth. Its width is 537 meters and its depth is 662 meters. It was formed after an underground river washed away the walls of a huge cave, and its roof collapsed. This happened thousands of years ago: historians mentioned the “heavenly pit” back in ancient times.
Sinkhole on Highway 101 in Oregon
In 2016, a sinkhole up to 10 meters deep appeared on Highway 101 in Oregon. Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, as experts said, due to the condition of the soil, it will no longer be possible to repair the road, and the failure will continue to grow. As a result, Oregon Highway 101 was completely closed.
Sinkhole in a diner parking lot, Mississippi
In 2015, a sinkhole unexpectedly opened up outside a Mississippi pancake house and 12 cars fell into it in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there were no people in any of them, but one can imagine the state of car owners who left the cafe after breakfast and found their cars at the bottom of a 10-meter hole! As it turned out, people were to blame for the incident - the owners of the cafe built a parking lot over an old drainage ditch, naively thinking that the water would not make its way through the asphalt.
Among all the people who prefer to spend their free time traveling, there is a small part that strives to get to the most incredible places on the globe in order to see with their own eyes the most incredible and Amazing places or natural phenomena. It is to such places that one or another failure of the earth’s crust can be attributed ( earth's "holes""), which are sometimes formed either under the influence of natural forces or as a result of human activity.
It is precisely this phenomenon in Central America that can be attributed to the giant karst prova l, which formed in 2010 almost in the center of the capital of Guatemala after heavy rains caused by a tropical storm, which received a rather romantic name - Storm Agatha.
Failure in Guatemala has such impressive dimensions that for some time, both local residents and special services were afraid to approach it in order to determine not only its real size, but also the very reason for its occurrence. Karst sinkhole in Guatemala City, had a diameter of more than 19 meters in diameter and a depth of up to 30 meters. During its formation, a garment factory and several nearby buildings collapsed into it. Fortunately, only a few people were injured.
Even more impressive is the man-made formation on the surface of the Earth called the Mir kimberlite pipe, which is located in Yakutia, where largest diamond mine in the world. Its diameter today is more than 1,200 meters with a development depth of just over half a kilometer. In this case, we are talking about a huge quarry, where diamonds were mined industrially for almost half a century. In this case, it is quite difficult to imagine the amount of material removed from the ground, but a less remarkable circumstance is the fact that in 2004, the last ton of ore containing diamonds was mined at the Mir kimberlite pipe.
And if we continue the theme of diamond mining a little, then no less impressive is the abandoned career, located near the city of Kimberley, in the Republic of South Africa. With a diameter of 460 meters and a depth of up to 215 meters, until 1914, 22 million of soil was extracted from it and 2,722 kilograms of diamonds were mined, including such famous stones as De Beers, which weighs 428.5 carats, Porter Rhodes - 150 carats and Tiffany weighing 128.5 carats.
Incredible facts
Imagine that you are calmly walking down the street, when suddenly the ground begins to shake and a huge hole suddenly appears under you. This is not a horror movie script, but a phenomenon called sinkhole, which can reach incredible sizes and absorb everything that appears on the surface.
The other day In Florida, USA, a 37-year-old man was swallowed by a huge hole., which opened right in his bedroom while he was sleeping.
Sinkhole approximately 6 meters wide and more than 15 meters deep led to the collapse of the concrete floor in the house.
Five other people in the house heard the loud noise and the man's screams, but they were not injured. The victim, Jeff Bush, most likely did not survive after falling underground.
Sinkhole
The sinkhole that suddenly opened up in Florida is a phenomenon that is more common than we think. What causes them and how dangerous are they?
Most sinkholes formed when acidic rainwater gradually dissolves limestone and other soil rocks, leaving a huge void that causes whatever is on the surface to collapse, be it an open field, a road or a house.
Collapse may occur suddenly, or it may simply lead to gradual subsidence of the soil or the formation of small reservoirs and salt marshes.
Sinkhole holes are found everywhere, especially in the USA, China, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.
The biggest holes in the ground
Here are some photos of the huge holes that have swallowed up streets, sidewalks and buildings around the world.
1. Sarissarinama Plateau, Venezuela
The Sarisariñama Plateau is located in the Jaua-Sarisarinama Park in Venezuela and is one of the mysterious and beautiful natural wonders of the world. There are several dips on the plateau with a diameter of up to 350 meters and a depth of 350 meters.
Each hole has developed its own ecosystem with unique species of animals and plants.
2. Failure in Berezniki, Russia
The Berezniki sinkhole was formed in 1986 as a result of a mine accident, and every year the situation only got worse. In 2007, the dimensions of the failure at the first mine were 80 by 20 meters, and depth up to 200 meters. By the end of August 2012, the fourth funnel had grown to the size 103 by 100 meters.
3. Hole in Guatemala
In February 2007, a sinkhole in Guatemala 100 meters deep swallowed up more than a dozen houses. More than 100 people were evacuated and three people died. The hole was the result of corrosion in the sewer system deep below the surface. The failure was accompanied by loud sounds, and an unbearable smell emanated from the hole.
In 2010, another hole opened in Guatemala 18 meters wide and 60 meters deep.
4. Bimmah, Oman
Bimmah Sinkhole is a limestone crater that is now a popular tourist attraction in Oman.
Other holes in the ground
5. In May 1981, a giant hole appeared during the day in Winter Park in Florida, USA. The city has turned this area into an urban lake.
6. In 1995, a sinkhole 18 meters deep, measuring 60 by 45 meters, swallowed up two houses in San Francisco.
7. In the city of Dysetta, Texas in the USA, a relatively small 6-meter sinkhole expanded to 270 meters per day.
8. In November 2003, rescuers had to rescue a bus in Lisbon, Portugal, after it fell into a hole. 9 meters deep, which was presumably caused by heavy rains.
9. In March 2007, a road collapsed into an underground network of caves in the southern Italian city of Gallipoli.
10. In September 2008, the road collapsed, creating a sinkhole 5 meters deep and 10 meters wide in Guangzhou Province, China.
11. In May 2012, a hole appeared on the road in Shaanxi Province, China. 15 meters long, 10 meters wide and 6 meters deep.
12. Another road in this province collapsed in December 2012, leaving a hole 6 meters deep and 10 meters wide.
For the second day, Geological Survey employees have been struggling with the cause of the mysterious appearance in the capital of Guatemala, which suffered from tropical storm Agatha, of an impressive sinkhole that swallowed up an entire garment factory building.
A hole of almost perfect circular shape with a diameter of about 20 meters and 30 meters deep. It formed in one of the districts of Guatemala City on Saturday evening. In the place where there is now a huge crater, the bottom of which is not visible even from a helicopter, there once stood a three-story building of a garment factory.
However, information about the casualties differs. Local authorities report that no one was injured as a result of the emergency. However, information about one or two missing persons, as well as the death of a private security officer, has repeatedly appeared in a number of media outlets. RIA Novosti writes about this.
Now the mysterious crater is cordoned off by police, and geologists are working on the site. Experts have been unable to understand the cause of the sinkhole for two days now. It is worth noting that a little more than three years ago, literally two kilometers from this place, an almost similar “black hole” had already formed in the ground.
However, one of the reasons could be tropical storm Agatha. Such floods and landslides have not been seen in this region for the last 60 years. The disaster destroyed roads and bridges, rivers overflowed their banks, and many areas were cut off from the outside world. More than 70 thousand people were left homeless. Dozens of people are missing. The disaster has already claimed the lives of 179 people, Vesti-Moskva reports.
“I can tell you what was not the reason: it is not the fault of geology and it was not caused by an earthquake. This is all we know at the moment, and we will be forced to go inside,” said David Monteroso, a geophysical engineer with the National Emergency Management Agency.
Meanwhile, scientists agree that the round shape of the funnel suggests the presence of a karst cavity underneath. While geologists are puzzling over the causes of the “crater,” many local residents, whose houses are located in close proximity to the “black hole,” have already chosen to rent other housing.
