Deepest hole in world found in Croatia

August 10, 2004

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Cave explorers discovered a pit inside a mountain range in central Croatia believed to have the world's deepest subterranean
vertical drop, at nearly 1,700 feet, a scientific institute reported Monday.

The cave, in Croatia's mountainous Velebit region, has a steady, weaving descent of 203 feet before it takes a direct vertical plunge of 1,693 feet
through the ground, said Ana Sutlovic Baksic, a researcher at the Velebit Speleological Society.

The cave's widest stretch is about 100 feet.

''We have even bigger caves in Croatia, but according to available data, this cave has the world's deepest vertical drop,'' Sutlovic Baksic said.

At the foot of the Velebit cave are small ponds and streams, including one of the largest known colonies of subterranean leeches, Sutlovic Baksic
said.

It is located in the Rozanski Hip National Park reserve in the rocky Velebit mountain range in central Croatia. The pit was discovered by a team of
explorers from around the country.

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