Cave system
Sistema K'oox Baal
QRSS list entry reported by A. Reato, 04/2024. The QRSS deep-cave list still shows an older figure of 102,968 m (01/2023). QRSS long and deep lists.
The third-longest underwater cave on the QRSS list, at 103,102 m (reported April 2024), built up through a long series of connections with neighbouring caves since 2011.
Sistema K'oox Baal is a large flooded cave in Quintana Roo that has grown mainly by linking caves that were first mapped on their own. QRSS records connections to Tux Kupaxa and others in 2011, then to Wa Ba'ax Yan, Lion (Leon), Muul Tun Spring, Ka-Lag Dzonot and Tres Cruces in 2016, and to Cangrejo in 2019.
The system is mostly shallow by Quintana Roo standards, with QRSS listing a maximum depth of about 26 m. In January 2025 QRSS reported that a push from neighbouring Sistema Xunaan Ha had come very close to connecting the two systems.
K'oox Baal is primarily an exploration and cave-diving system rather than a cavern-tour site. In April 2024 CREER said guided tours at Cenote Xuxi, one of its entrances, had no direct access to open water, were unsafe for single-tank divers and must not be run, and that the 'cavern' line there would be removed.
Survey and exploration history
| 2011-12 | Tux Kupaxa, Sac K'tu Cha and Balam T'sal sump were connected to K'oox Baal, then described as the seventh-longest cave in Mexico. [2] |
| 2016-06 | A connection to Muul Tun Spring made K'oox Baal the third-longest underwater cave in Mexico, according to QRSS. [2] |
| 2016-10 | K'oox Baal was connected to Tres Cruces. [2] |
| 2019-07 | Cangrejo was connected to K'oox Baal. [2] |
| 2025-01 | QRSS reported that a push from Xunaan Ha came very close to, but did not make, a connection with K'oox Baal. [2] |
Entrances and dive sites
QRSS lists about 57 cenotes (flagged as approximate). Cenote Xuxi is one entrance; CREER has said cavern tours must not be run there.
Further reading
Long Underwater Caves in Quintana Roo (QRSS list) ↗
Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS) ↗
Every fact on this page, with its source (7)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| QRSS lists Sistema K'oox Baal at 103,102 m, reported by A. Reato in 04/2024, third on its list.The QRSS deep list shows 102,968 m from 01/2023. | Verified | [1] |
| QRSS gives K'oox Baal a maximum depth of 26.2 m. | Verified | [1] [4] |
| QRSS lists 57 cenotes for K'oox Baal, marked as uncertain. | Verified | [1] |
| QRSS records connections of K'oox Baal to Tux Kupaxa (2011), Wa Ba'ax Yan, Lion, Muul Tun Spring, Ka-Lag Dzonot and Tres Cruces (2016) and Cangrejo (2019). | Verified | [2] |
| In January 2025 QRSS reported that a Xunaan Ha push came very close to connecting to K'oox Baal. | Verified | [2] |
| CREER stated in April 2024 that tours at Cenote Xuxi (K'oox Baal system) have no direct access to open water, are unsafe for single-tank divers, must not be conducted, and that the 'cavern' line would be removed.Whether the line has since been removed was not verified. | Verified | [3] |
| CREER's visiting cave diver registration asks for proof of cave certification.Registration described as not mandatory. | Verified | [5] |
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