Sima Humboldt (Sima Mayor) is
an enormous sinkhole located
on the summit of the plateau of Sarisariñama tepui in Bolívar State,Venezuela. It is unusual for several reasons, including its
enormous size and depth, its location on the top of the only forested tepui, having a patch of forest on its base and also due to
the weathering process that formed this sinkhole. The feature is named
after scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.
Together with the neighbouring Sima Martel, it was first spotted in 1961 by pilot Harry
Gibson. The sinkhole was descended for the first time in 1974 and more
thoroughly explored in 1976. Its volume is 18,000,000 m3 (640,000,000 cu ft),
whereas the maximum width at its upper rim is 352 m (1,155 ft) and
502 m (1,647 ft) below. Only 700 metres from the rim of Sima Humboldt
there is another enormous sinkhole, Sima Martel. In total there are four caves
on Sarisariñama.
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Sima
Humboldt is seen in middle of picture, in the far background is Sima
Martel
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| Inside the sinkhole |
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| Alexander von Humboldt |
Photo Source: Collected from Internet
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