Cave system
Sistema Toh Ha
QRSS list entry reported by Berni/Sieff, 12/2018. QRSS list; the 2020 PLOS ONE study gives about 13 m for the Chan Hol section.
A shallow underwater cave of 47,746 m on the QRSS list (2018 figure) that includes the Chan Hol cave south-west of Tulum, where Late Pleistocene and early Holocene human skeletons have been studied.
Sistema Toh Ha grew through a run of connections recorded by QRSS in 2007, when it was joined to Chumkopo Antigua, Chan Hol and Sac Be Ha, and in 2009, when Baab Zotz was added. QRSS lists 21 cenotes and a maximum depth of only about 13 m, making it one of the shallower large systems in the region.
The Chan Hol section is scientifically important. A 2020 study in PLOS ONE describes Chan Hol cenote as about 15 km south-west of Tulum and reports three sets of human remains found inside the cave, including the Chan Hol 3 woman, found in 2016 in a low tunnel more than a kilometre from the entrance. The authors note that the Chan Hol 2 skeleton was taken by unknown cave divers a few weeks after it was discovered, a reminder that archaeological material in these caves is protected and fragile.
The QRSS length figure dates from December 2018 and may be out of date.
Water, flow and flooding
The PLOS ONE study gives a maximum depth of about 13 m for Chan Hol cave and places the halocline at about 9 m water depth there.
Why it matters
The Chan Hol section has yielded several prehistoric human skeletons; the Chan Hol 3 woman, found during survey work under INAH permits, was studied as evidence for early human settlement of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Survey and exploration history
| 2007-03 | Toh Ha was connected to Chumkopo Antigua and then to Chan Hol, becoming the fifth-longest underwater cave in Quintana Roo according to QRSS. [2] |
| 2007-04 | Toh Ha was connected to Sac Be Ha. [2] |
| 2009-03 | Baab Zotz was connected to Toh Ha. [2] |
| 2016-09 | Cave explorers surveying Chan Hol under INAH permits found the Chan Hol 3 human skeleton. [3] |
Entrances and dive sites
QRSS lists 21 cenotes. No public dive-site arrangements were found in the sources used.
Further reading
Every fact on this page, with its source (9)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| QRSS lists Sistema Toh Ha at 47,746 m, reported by Berni/Sieff in 12/2018.Newest figure found is from December 2018. | May be out of date | [1] |
| QRSS lists a maximum depth of 12.8 m for Toh Ha. | Verified | [1] |
| QRSS lists 21 cenotes for Toh Ha. | Verified | [1] |
| QRSS recorded Toh Ha's connections to Chumkopo Antigua and Chan Hol (March 2007), Sac Be Ha (April 2007) and Baab Zotz (March 2009). | Verified | [2] |
| Chan Hol cenote lies about 15 km south-west of Tulum and about 11.5 km from the coast.Area given from the Chan Hol section only. | Verified | [3] |
| Chan Hol cave reaches about 13 m below present sea level, with the halocline at about 9 m water depth. | Verified | [3] |
| The Chan Hol 3 skeleton was found in September 2016 in a low tunnel at 8 m depth, 1,141 m of diving distance from the cenote, during a survey under INAH permits. | Verified | [3] |
| The Chan Hol 2 skeleton was stolen by unknown cave divers a few weeks after its discovery.As stated by the PLOS ONE authors. | Verified | [3] |
| The Chan Hol research was carried out under permits from INAH. | Verified | [3] |
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