18The Otates phosphate mine is located in a small valley which c<strong>ut</strong>sback into the Sierra <strong>for</strong> several hundred feet. Mining operations haveintersected a small <strong>cave</strong> passage which was filled by phosphate deposits.Just below the mine and the <strong>cave</strong>, a small arroyo leads down the mountainside.The arroyo, the <strong>cave</strong>, and the mine valley are in alignment and seemto be structurally related.Cueva de los Indios and Sotano de Casi Media MilThese two <strong>cave</strong>s were once joined on an intermediate level, b<strong>ut</strong> theconnection is now sealed by massive flowstone deposits. It does not appearthat this system was ever integrated with either Otates or Diamante. Indiosand Casi Media Mil are both large phreatic passages which <strong>for</strong>med along E-W,N-S joints. There are no distinct bedding planes visible in Indios, and bedrockobservations are nearly impossible in Casi Media Mil because the entire<strong>cave</strong> is draped in flowstone.The Indios Sink is right on the crest of the El Abra, and the miningroad borders it on the so<strong>ut</strong>h side. The collapse opening is 40 feet wide and235 feet long, and its walls are vertical, dropping approximately 40 feeton the low side and 60 feet on the high side. However, the so<strong>ut</strong>h wall offersan easy climbdown along a joint. At the east end of the entrance sink is alow, wide room containing the remains of several stone walls which wereprobably built by Huastecan Indians. At the west end of the sink, a talusslope leads down to a flat, silt-floored passage where there are more archaeologicalremains. This passage is 20 feet wide, 40 feet high, and extendswest <strong>for</strong> 375 feet be<strong>for</strong>e it is intersected by an upper level crawlway. Thiscrawl leads north to a 60-foot drop (80' rope) into more large passage. Thispassage heads west and becomes plugged with flows tone only 350 feet fromCasi Media Mil. The joint along which this passage is <strong>for</strong>med appears on thesurface in the large dolina west of the mine, and this is the location ofthe 3xlO-foot entrance slot to Casi Media Mil.The Casi Media Mil entrance pit bells o<strong>ut</strong> quickly and drops III feetto a rock-strewn floor. To the east is a short passage which matches upwith the lower level in Indios. A few feet to the west is a 43-foot drop(a single 180' rope can rig the entrance drop and this one). At the bottomis a flowstone squeeze, followed by a climbdown which leads to the top ofthe last drop. The total depth of this drop is 305 feet (350' rope), b<strong>ut</strong>after descending 50 feet against one wall, a large natural bridge is encounteredon which several people can work com<strong>for</strong>tably. Once below the bridge,there is a 217-foot free rappel. This section of the pit bells o<strong>ut</strong> into alarge, impressive chamber which is 120x70 feet near the bottom. The mud andgravel floor of this chamber is perfectly flat. There is a small pool inthe center of the room, and a drainage channel leads to a sump against onewall. Casi Media Mil is well-decorated and has one highly unusual <strong>for</strong>mationat the top of the long drop -- the remnants of a large, hollow sphere. Itappears that flows tone was deposited over a mound of sediment, and later thesediment eroded, leaving only the flowstone shell. A smaller sphere iscurrently being <strong>for</strong>med by this process at the bottom of the <strong>cave</strong>.Cueva de DiamanteCueva de Diamante is located at the so<strong>ut</strong>heast end of the large dolinato the west of the mine. The <strong>cave</strong> has two small entrances. The most obviousone is in a sump at the end of the arroyo which drains the dolina. During
large storms, this arroyo sends floodwaters into the <strong>cave</strong>. A tight, deviouscrawl (unmapped) leads away from the sump and eventually breaks into largerpassage. The second entrance is an obscure 2x2-foot hole in the karst abo<strong>ut</strong>30 feet so<strong>ut</strong>h of the sump. This hole leads directly into the upper sectionof the <strong>cave</strong>, a 300-foot-long, steeply-dropping phreatic tube which averages6 feet in diameter. Several climbdowns, crawls, and pools must be negotiatedbe<strong>for</strong>e reaching a series of wet, flows tone cascades known as Frog Falls(named <strong>for</strong> the numerous green tree frogs inhabiting the passage). Theseclimbs are difficult, and a lOa-foot handline is very useful: Just pastFrog Falls, a domepit is encountered (100' rope). Thirty feet down thisdrop is a partition which divides the <strong>cave</strong> into two distinct sections: theCanyonlands and the Shatter Zone (Crystal Room or Grubb's Ro<strong>ut</strong>e).Canyonland Section (basically a high, narrow crevice which requireschanging levels frequently to find passage, often with no floor or ceilingvisible and too tight to turn one's feet or head around in) includes, tothe right of the partition, a domepit parallel to the one in which the ropehangs. A 25-foot climbdown leads to the bottom of this parallel pit. Fromhere a walking passage quickly reaches the beginning of the joint-controlledcanyons where the chimneying begins. After going 75 feet horizontally andlosing 40 feet vertically, Size 28 Pit is reached -- a 22-foot drop whichcan be climbed by slipping down through a vadose trench if your waist issize 32 or less. It is an exposed climb, however, and should be rigged. Atthe top of this pit, a small fault is visible in beds dipping at 25 (seediagram). From here the tight canyon continues northwest <strong>for</strong> 125 feet. Thenit changes joints and heads northeast, first as walking passage and then asnarrow Z-canyon again. This trend continues <strong>for</strong> 325 feet until it is intersectedby a vertical joint with a dip of 60 (see diagram). Here the canyonturns due east and starts dropping quickly. A 16-foot chimney leads down toan 83-foot drop (lOa' rope). From the bottom, another 75 feet of canyon goesto a 66-foot drop (lOa' rope), followed by another 50 feet of canyon to anunexplored 4-second drop which is 788 feet above the estimated base level.Although the canyon walls in this section are mud-coated, the last drop isscoured clean and blows air. Plans have been made to continue explorationin December.Shatter Zone Section (basically vertical fissures and near-vertical,walking-size passage averaging 10 feet in diameter) continues, to the leftof the partition, another 35 feet to the flour of the first drop. From herea passage slopes 30 feet to a series of offset drops which descend 142feet (partially climbable, b<strong>ut</strong> best rigged with a single 175' rope). At thispoint the passage divides, and two parallel ro<strong>ut</strong>es drop 260 feet be<strong>for</strong>erejoining (on the diagram, the line labeled "fracture" points at this split).The Floodwater Ro<strong>ut</strong>e is a small, wet passage northwest of the divide whichgoes 50 feet to a plunge pool above a IS-foot drop (35' rope). A small,jagged passage then continues 20 feet to the top ofa 66-foot drop ( lOa'rope) down the wall of a fissure (20 feet below the lip of this drop, itis possible to get off the rope and explore a short side room which is encrustedwith large crystals similar to the Crystal Room). The bottom ofthis drop is actually a bedrock "bridge" with the fissure continuing beneathit. On the west side a narrow slot drops into the fissure. On the eastside a climbdown goes to a window which provides a 125-foot drop down thefissure (ISO' rope). At the bottom of this fissure is where the parallelro<strong>ut</strong>e enters. The Crystal Room Ro<strong>ut</strong>e is a 40-foot drop ( 50' rope) intothe Crystal Room which is named <strong>for</strong> the six-inch calcite crystals encrustingits walls. This drop is located 25 feet so<strong>ut</strong>heast of the divide. In theso<strong>ut</strong>heast corner of the Crystal Room, a climbable fissure drops 60 feet,19
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ASSCCIATION FOR MEXICAN CAVE STUDIE
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3So the large-entranced sotano whic
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5MINA OTATES, T&~.: DSC. 25, 1974,
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MERIDA, YUC.: OCT. 1974, David McKe
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AMCSMEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES LETTEREdi
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3Michael Schulte has been working o
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5To the right of the partition in t
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7Diamond Cave RevisitedAndy Grubbs,
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9CHE~-VEN-SIL-MUTSYSTEM\+--1000 ft.
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Cave Map Symbols11On the following
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13I NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL ISOCIETY
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ASSOCIATION FOR MEXIC&~ CAVE STUDIE
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17Discussion of Map Symbolsby Bill
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19in a 90 meter pit could collect d
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- Page 37 and 38: 3After leaving Valladolid we went t
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- Page 41 and 42: June 97Dear AMCSRE:Diamond CaveAfte
- Page 43 and 44: Anyways we speleo-boppedEstrella an
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- Page 47 and 48: 13Sotano Hondo de Pina1itoBy Steven
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12could scamper up a wed~ed log and
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14This idea was thwarted given an u
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16NEW YEAR'S DAY IN SAN AGUSTINan t
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1'1later Jim and I began the long c
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20Our group of six intended on rapp
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22here and poked around for leads.
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24and myself about trash and abando
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line didn't cross; nylon against ny
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...'"1IIc.21II .._1II~(,),-• c..'
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30Medical Report On The April 1977
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'32One caver alInost lost her voice
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34considered normal. The diabetic d
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36Jim Smit~ Has followinp, Blake Ha
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3~the spot would make a smaU slip.
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AMCSACTIVITIeSNewsLe TTe Rno. 7
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'International NewsTHE SIERRA DE GU
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International Newsin the entrance a
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The Ten Deepest Caves in Mexicoby B
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to a drop. t returned and dropped a
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to the entrance. From San Andres we
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stove in a semi-catatonic state. He
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above the roaring cascades. At time
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With two leads 'beckoning we began
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Chaining a passage in Cueva de Infi
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the cave. We pulled our rope down b
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increased the cave's depth to -197
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series of parallel ascending (+30 0
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La Sistema Purificacidn: a theory a
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Between the Cold and the" GlorybyTe
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Back tothe Bird PitsbyBill StoneSum
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'Getting Down in Peiiaby Bill Stone
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CUEVADELAPENAPROFI LEmetersoRanc ho