Chevé Cave

Chevé Cave
Location Sierra Juárez,Oaxaca, Mexico

Chevé Cave (/ˈtʃeɪveɪ/ CHAY-vay; Spanish: Cueva Chevé) is a deep cave located in the Sierra Juárez mountain range in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. As of 2003, its deepest point has been measured at 4,869 feet (1,484 m) deep, making it the second deepest known cavern in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s 12th deepest cave.[1] The cave's deepest known point is nearly one vertical mile and seven horizontal miles from the entrance, ending in a terminal sump. The present limit of exploration in Chevé, at 9.3 kilometers from the nearest entrance, represents one of the most remote locations ever attained inside any cave on Earth. The logistics of reaching this point are enormous: more than two kilometers of rope need to be rigged and three underground camps established.[2] Chevé is the deepest proven freshwater hydrological system in the world.[3] Temperatures in Chevé are moderate, ranging from 47 to 52 °F (8 to 11 °C). It has been most thoroughly explored under the leadership of caver Bill Stone.[4]

Exploration history

Chevé Cave was discovered in the mid 1980s by Bill Farr and Carol Vesely. Since then it has been pushed to the depth of 1,484 metres (4,869 ft), making it the second deepest cave in the Americas. The cave system has the greatest proven depth potential in the world as proven by a dye trace from its main entrance to the resurgence 2547 meters lower. The current terminus of the main Chevé system is a large breakdown pile reached after diving through two sumps. It is just over 9 kilometers from the entrance, making it currently one of the most remote underground locations on earth. Due to the logistical difficulties of continuing exploration from this point, current expeditions are focusing on finding mid-way entrances that might provide a quicker route into the middle Chevé system.[5]

Hypothesized connection to J2

In 2004, an international caving expedition led by the U.S. Deep Caving Team discovered a new cave they named J2. The entrance of J2 located 5 kilometers northeast of the Chevé Cave entrance. J2 appears to head in the direction of Chevé Cave, with a predicted intersection beyond the tunnel collapse that stopped the team in 2003. Current expeditions are underway to find a connection between J2 and Chevé Cave, which will produce a cave system more than 2 kilometers in depth. The integration of the entire system will produce a 2,597 meter deep cave and would represent the deepest cave in the world.[6][7]


See also

References

  1. ↑ Gulden, Bob. "World's Deepest Caves". NSS Geo2. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "2013 J2 Expedition". 14 March 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Frederick, Donald (19 October 1992). "Exploring Sistema Cheve: More Than Records at Stake". Observer Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Zasky, Jason (July 2010). "To the Supercave". Failure Magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Covington, Matt. "Sistema Cheve". www.speleophysics.com. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Lillestolen, Jon. "2009 J2 Expedition". usdct.org. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "2013 J2 Expedition". usdct.org.

External links

Coordinates: 17°51′N 96°48′W / 17.85°N 96.80°W / 17.85; -96.80

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