Sinkhole
Manantial de la Aleta
A deep Taíno ritual sinkhole inside Parque Nacional Cotubanamá, with a hydrogen sulfide layer and oxygen-free deep water. Known from archaeological diving; no public diving access is published.
Small openings in the forest floor lead into a chamber that falls 16 m to a round pool about 40 m wide. Below the surface a debris mound rises to 34 m and slopes down to 73 m. Archaeological divers mapped and recovered Taíno pottery and rare wooden objects from its slopes.
The site is documented as an archaeological research location inside a national park. No recreational access, guide service or permit procedure is published.
The environment
Clear water to 10 m, a milky sulfide layer to about 20 m, then clear, dark and oxygen-free water to 73 m; about 24 °C; no measurable flow.
Conditions
Hydrogen sulfide layer from about 10 m and anoxic water below about 11 m (2002 study).
Typical ranges from published sources, not current conditions.
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (6)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The chamber drops 16 m to a pool about 40 m in diameter; a rubble mound top lies at 34 m and its slopes reach 73 m. | Verified | [1] |
| The maximum depth is 73 m below the water surface.2002. | Verified | [1] |
| Water temperature is a fairly constant 24.2 °C.2002. | Verified | [1] |
| A sulfide-laden layer from about 10 m blurs visibility until about 20 m; the water is anoxic below about 11 m. | Verified | [1] |
| The site is within the national park; the published work describes research diving only.No current access rules found. | Reported | [1] |
| The site is 20 km from the Padre Nuestro complex and 5 km inland from the nearest shore.Coordinates withheld for an archaeological site. | Verified | [1] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction