Tamaulipas
Nacimiento del Río Mante
Info · exploration
Expeditions only: no dive centre on site; according to Nitrox (IANTD) divers are guarded by state police because of insecurity, and all gear comes from Mexico City.
- Max depth268 m (879 ft)
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialExperienced divers
Diving and fills
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Now at Nacimiento del Río Mante
The dive
A crack about 30 m long runs straight down along a fault, 1.5 m wide at most, and pours out a huge amount of water: 12 m³ a second in the dry season and 19 m³ in the rainy season.
Profile and sections
A crack about 30 m long runs straight down along a fault, 1.5 m wide at most, and pours out a huge amount of water: 12 m³ a second in the dry season and 19 m³ in the rainy season. Deeper it widens slightly and opens into a black abyss.
Sheck Exley explored the spring from 1979 and dived here to 520, 660, 780 and, in 1989, 881 ft, with 14 hours of deco. Mary Ellen Eckhoff set the women's record of 400 ft here in 1987. A UNAM team with Luis Sánchez laid new lines in 2016 and 2022. In 2015 a plan to draw water from deeper was dropped after divers warned the entrance could collapse.
Practical: a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe has stood in the spring since 1999. The spring supplies drinking water to Ciudad Mante.
- Depth and profile
- Plan for -268 m: Sheck Exley dived here to 881 ft (~268 m) in March 1989; the AMCS map gives 264 m deep and 130 m long. Nitrox (IANTD) mapped the cave in 3D to 350 ft (~107 m).
- Configuration
- The deep part on open circuit and rebreathers with trimix.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR
- Goes down to 268 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
- Experienced divers only
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
~11 km from Ciudad Mante on a gravel road, at the foot of the Sierra de El Abra. A public swimming spot with paths, parking and a restaurant, open daily 9:00–18:00 and free; some zones are reserved for research.
Around Nacimiento del Río Mante
FillsNo fill station known nearby
No provider in Tamaulipas yet
The caves here are listed as information only: we don't know a dive centre, guide or club yet that takes visitors, so you can't plan a trip here yet. Do you know one, or are you one? Let us know.