Cave Diving

By the end of the 1990s, The Pit in the Dos Ojos cave system located 5.8 km from the Caribbean coast in the state of Quintana Roo had been discovered, and it is presently (2008) 119 m deep. At that time, technical diving and rebreather equipment and techniques became common place.
By the turn of the millennium the longest underwater cave system, called Ox Bel Ha was established by cave diving explorers whose combined efforts and information helped join segments of previously explored caves. The use of hand held GPS technology and aerial and satellite images for reconnaissance during exploration became common. New technology such as rebreathers and diver propulsion vehicles (DPVs) became available and were utilized for longer penetration dives. As of January 2008, Ox Bel Ha includes 170 km of underwater passage (QRSS for current statistics).
Active exploration continues in the new millennium. Most cave diving exploration is now conducted on the basis of "mini projects" lasting 1 – 7 days, and occurring many times a year, and these may include daily commutes from home to jungle dive base camps located within 1 hour from road access.
In 2006 and 2007 a number of large previously explored and mapped cave systems have been connected utilizing sidemount cave diving techniques and many times no-mount cave diving techniques in order to pass through these tight cave passages, creating the second largest connected underwater cave systems on the planet, Sac Actun, which presently has a length extent of 155 km (QRSS for current statistics).