Western Mexico includes the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán and Nayarit, an area of some 173,000 square kilometers within relatively easy reach of Guadalajara, the nation’s second-largest city.
While caves in this area are not as long or deep as in other parts of Mexico, they offer plenty of challenges for sport cavers and a wide range of subterranean environments for speleologists to study. They are also well beloved by treasure hunters who are convinced that all Mexican caves contain gold hidden long ago by bandidos.
Vertical Caves of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán
Cerro Grande, which straddles the Jalisco-Colima border, is full of deep pits. Close to 100 of these have been mapped and three are over 200 meters deep. The most notable is El Resumidero del Pozo Blanco, explored to a depth of 241 meters by La Sociedad Mexicana de Exploraciones Subterráneas (SMES). Most of these caves are described in the book Las Cavernas de Cerro Grande by Carlos Lazcano Sahagún. Much of the Cerro Grande has not yet been explored by speleologists.
Western Mexico's Horizontal Caves
Horizontal limestone caves are found in many parts of Western Mexico, especially near the Pihuamo and Ferrería rivers and in the Dos Aguas area of Michoacán. In addition, a number of marble caves have been located near La Concha, Jalisco. The longest horizontal cave is Resumidero de Toxín in Jalisco (3005 meters) and next in line is Cueva Del Río Durazno in Michoacán (3000 meters).
Tampumacchay Cave, Colima
A typical limestone cave is Cueva de Tampumacchay, located near Colima City. This cave has 336 meters of surveyed passages, two entrances, and three distinct levels, with many openings still unexplored. It has numerous stalactites and stalagmites and a curious formation called The Thousand-Layer Cake.
Another unusual feature is El Imbudo Mortal, a slippery, five-meter-wide natural funnel overlooking an eight meter drop. Guano from insect-eating and vampire bats covers parts of the cave and the twilight departure of bats from both entrances is a dramatic sight well worth witnessing.
Volcanic Caves of Nayarit and Jalisco
As for volcanic caves, lava tubes have been found above the Santiago River along with two solution caves in volcanic deposits, namely Cueva Del Zurdo in Nayarit and Chapuzón Cave in Jalisco. In addition, there is a multi-level fissure cave called Chiquihuitón near Tequila. It has been mapped to 413 meters and still continues.
Whip Scorpions, Wolf Spiders and Big Bed Bugs
Fauna seen in these caves include Tailless Whip Scorpions (harmless despite the name), Wolf Spiders, a boa-like snake which catches bats, Big Bed Bugs (Triatoma infestans), millipedes, cockroaches and, of course, a wide variety of bats, whose numbers are constantly decreasing.
Histoplasmosis and Other Dangers
Number one among the dangers peculiar to caves in this part of Mexico is histoplasmosis, a lung condition caused by a fungus growing in guano. Another problem is bad air, a concentration of carbon dioxide which causes death by asphyxiation in minutes. A third danger, is the presence of Africanized-bee hives in some cave entrances.
Cavers in Western Mexico have learned to deal with these problems and continue to discover, explore and map wild caves, many of which contain passages and chambers never before entered by human beings, not even by the industrious Mexican treasure hunters.
The only organization in Western Mexico dedicated entirely to caving is Grupo Espeleológico Zotz, a member of SMES and founded in 1985 by John and Susy Pint.
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