Chinhoyi Caves

Group of caves in north central Zimbabwe

Chinhoyi Caves Recreational Park

IUCN category II (national park)

Location| Chinhoyi District, Zimbabwe
Nearest city| Chinhoyi
Coordinates| 17°21′0″S 30°07′30″E﻿ / ﻿17.35000°S 30.12500°E﻿ / -17.35000; 30.12500
Governing body| Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

Ramsar Wetland

Official name| Chinhoyi Caves Recreational Park
Designated| 3 May 2013
Reference no.| 2103[1]

The Chinhoyi Caves (previously the Sinoia Caves) are a group of limestone and dolomite caves in north central Zimbabwe.[2] Designated a National Park in 1955, and managed by the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority.

## Location

[edit]

The caves are located in Makonde District, Mashonaland West Province, in north central Zimbabwe. They lie approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi), by road, northwest of Chinhoyi (formerly Sinoia), the nearest large town, and the location of the district and provincial headquarters.[3] This location lies about 135 kilometres (84 mi), northwest of Harare, the capital.[4] The caves lie on the main road, Highway A-1, between Harare and Chirundu, at the International border with the Republic of Zambia, about 250 kilometres (160 mi), further northwest of the caves.[5]

## Overview

[edit]

The cave system is composed of limestone and dolomite. The main cave contains a pool of cobalt blue water, which is popularly called Sleeping Pool or Chirorodziva ("Pool of the Fallen").[2] Divers have discovered a submarine passage leading from the Bat Cave, a subchamber of the Dark Cave to another room known as the Blind Cave. Diving is possible in the caves all year round, with temperatures never beyond the 22 to 24 °C (72 to 75 °F) range with zero thermocline. Visibility is high, and 50 metres (160 ft) and above is not unusual. This site is often visited by diving expedition teams of technical divers that perform ultra deep diving. It is not uncommon for dives in excess of 100 metres (330 ft) to be made here by experienced technical divers. A campsite, run by the National Parks Authority, and a motel are located on-site.

## History

[edit]

The local name for the cave's pool, Chirorodziva ("Pool of the Fallen") comes from an incident that occurred in 1830, where members of the Angonni tribe attacked the local people and threw their victims into the cave to dispose of them.[2]

The limestone caves were first described by Frederick Courtney Selous in 1888. These caves are the most extensive cave system in Zimbabwe that the public can access.

## Religion

[edit]

The caves have an important place in African Traditional Religion, with the caves themselves as a site for rainmaking, surrounded by a sacred forest, from which trees could not be felled.[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Districts of Zimbabwe
* Provinces of Zimbabwe
* Economy of Zimbabwe

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Chinhoyi Caves Recreational Park". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
2. ^ a b c Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. pp. 345. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
3. ^ Map Showing Chinhoyi And Chinhoyi Caves With Distance Marker
4. ^ Road Distance Between Harare And Chinhoyi Caves With Map
5. ^ Map Showing Chinhoyi Caves And Chirundu With Distance Marker
6. ^ Kwashirai, Vimbai (2010). "Zimbabwe's Chinhoyi Caves: 1845-1945". Global Environment. 3 (5): 71–110. doi:10.3197/ge.2010.030504.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinhoyi Caves.

* Chinhoyi Caves Zimbabwe

* v
* t
* e

Recreational dive sites

Reef diving regions

* Akumal
* Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area
* Aliwal Shoal
* Amed (Bali)
* Anilao
* Apo Island
* Apo Reef
* Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
* Bay of Pigs
* Belize Barrier Reef
* Biscayne National Park
* Bohol Sea
* Bowie Seamount
* Bunaken
* Bunaken National Park
* Cahuita National Park
* Calve Island
* Capurganá
* Ċirkewwa
* Cliff Villa Peninsula
* Cozumel
* Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park
* Edmonds Underwater Park
* El Ikhwa Islands
* False Bay
* Għar Qawqla
* Gili Islands
* Great Barrier Reef
* Great Southern Reef
* Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve
* Haql
* Hol Chan Marine Reserve
* iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area
* Sodwana Bay
* John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
* Kadmat Island
* Ko Tao
* Lighthouse Reef
* Mantanani Islands
* Malapascua
* Martin's Haven
* Marsa Alam
* Molasses Reef
* Molokini
* Neptune Islands
* Osprey Reef
* Palancar Reef
* Panglao, Bohol
* Pescador Island
* Petit Saint Vincent
* Poor Knights Islands
* Porteau Cove Provincial Park
* Puerto Galera
* Punta Cana
* Ras Muhammad National Park
* Rondo Island
* Rottnest Island
* San Andrés (island)
* San Pedro Nolasco Island
* Shaʽb Abu Nuħas
* Shadwan Island
* Similan Islands
* Sipadan
* Socorro Island
* Sound of Mull
* St. Crispin's Reef
* Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
* Taganga
* Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area
* Tubbataha Reef
* Utila
* Wakatobi Regency
* Weh Island

Reef dive sites

* Azure Window
* Cod Hole
* Daedalus Reef
* Darwin's Arch
* Devil's Throat at Punta Sur
* Elphinstone Reef
* Eyemouth
* Fanadir
* Frederiksted Pier
* French Reef
* Fowey Rocks Light
* Gamul Kebir
* Hillsea Point Rock
* Inland Sea, Gozo
* Kennack Sands
* The Manacles
* Magic Point
* Octopus Hole
* Pope's Eye
* Portsea Hole
* Second Valley
* Sund Rock
* St Abbs
* Stingray City, Grand Cayman
* Wolf Rock

| Artificial reefs|

* Edithburgh jetty
* Gibraltar Artificial Reef
* Merkanti Reef
* Port Hughes jetty
* Port Noarlunga jetty
* Rapid Bay jetty
* Shark River Reef
* South Channel Fort
* Osborne Reef

|

Underwater artworks|

* Cancún Underwater Museum
* Christ of the Abyss
* Circle of Heroes
* Kristu tal-Baħħara
* Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park

Snorkelling sites|

* Fungus Rock

Wreck diving regions

* Bullhead Point Historical and Archeological District
* Calve Island
* Chuuk Lagoon
* Coron Bay
* Edmonds Underwater Park
* Shipwrecks of Isle Royale
* Loch Long
* Maritime Heritage Trail – Battle of Saipan
* Michigan Underwater Preserves
* Pearl and Hermes Atoll
* Porteau Cove Provincial Park
* Robben Island Marine Protected Area
* Scapa Flow
* Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
* Tulagi
* Tulamben
* Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
* List of shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
* Ve Skerries
* Wardang Island
* Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
* Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
* Wreck Alley, San Diego

Wreck dive sites

* 115 (barge)

| A|

* HMS A1
* HMS A3
* USS Aaron Ward
* Abessinia
* USS Accokeek
* HMAS Adelaide
* Admiral Sampson
* Adolphus Busch
* Aeolian Sky
* USS Aeolus
* Agat World War II Amtrac
* Ajax
* Albert C. Field
* USS Algol
* Algoma
* Al Munassir
* Amaryllis
* America
* USS Anderson
* Andrea Doria
* Antilla
* Antilles
* USS Apogon
* Appomattox
* Aquila
* Aratama Maru
* Arctic
* USS Arkansas
* Arratoon Apcar
* USS Arthur W. Radford
* Atlanta
* USS Atlanta
* Australasia

|

* HMAS Bayonet
* Ben Doran
* Benwood
* Bianca C.
* USCGC Bibb
* Binnendijk
* USS Blenny
* HMS Boadicea
* Booya
* HMSAS Bloemfontein
* Breda
* Brian Davis
* HMAS Brisbane
* HMHS Britannic
* Bud Bar
* Bungsberg
* Byron

* HMAS Canberra
* HMCS Cape Breton
* USCGC Cape Henlopen
* Captain Keith Tibbetts
* Carl D. Bradley
* USS Carlisle
* Carnatic
* Carthaginian II
* Cayuga
* Cedarville
* Christina Nilsson
* City of Bangor
* City of Everett
* City of Launceston
* Chaudière
* ROCS Chen Hai
* Chester A. Congdon
* Clan Ranald
* Clifton
* USCGC Comanche
* Comet
* Constandis
* HMAS Coogee
* SMS Cormoran
* Cornelia B. Windiate
* HMS Coronation
* Crusader
* Cuba
* Cumberland
* USS Curb
* USCGC Cuyahoga

* Dania
* Daniel Lyons
* David Tucker
* SMS Dresden
* D.R. Hanna
* USCGC Duane
* Dunraven
* Dwight L. Moody

* Eagle
* Eastfield
* SS Eber Ward
* SS Edgar E. Clark
* HMT Elk
* Ellengowan
* USS Emmons
* SS Emperor
* RMS Empress of Ireland
* SS Erie L. Hackley
* SS Espagne
* SS Etruria

* HMS Falmouth
* Fifi
* Fleetwing
* SS Francisco Morazan
* SS Francis Hinton
* SS Frank O'Connor
* F.T. Barney
* Fujikawa Maru
* Fumizuki

* Gallinipper
* SATS General Botha
* USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
* George A. Marsh
* SS George Dewey
* George M. Cox
* Georg Thiele
* HMS Ghurka
* USS Gilliam
* SS Glenlyon
* Glen Strathallan
* SAS Good Hope
* HMAS Goorangai
* Gothenburg
* Grace A. Channon
* SS Grecian
* Green Bay
* MV Gregory Poole
* Gunilda

* MT Haven
* SS Henry Chisholm
* MT Hephaestus
* Hermann Künne
* HMS Hermes
* Herzogin Cecilie
* SS Hesper
* Hilma Hooker
* Hispania
* Home
* HMS Hood
* HMAS Hobart

* Igara
* USS Indra
* SS Ironsides
* SS Isaac M. Scott
* Island City

* HMAS J1
* HMAS J2
* HMAS J4
* HMAS J5
* James Eagan Layne
* J.S. Seaverns
* SS John B. Cowle
* John M. Osborn
* SS John Mitchell
* Jura

* SS Kamloops
* Kashi Maru
* PS Keystone State
* King Cruiser
* USS Kittiwake
* Kizugawa Maru
* SMS Kronprinz
* Kyarra
* Kyle Spangler

* PS Lady Elgin
* Lady Thetis
* HMS Laforey
* SS Lakeland
* USS Lamson
* USAT Liberty
* SS Louisiana
* Louis Sheid
* SS L.R. Doty
* USS LST-507
* Lumberman

* HMS M2
* HMCS Mackenzie
* Madeira
* SMS Markgraf
* SS Marquette
* Mayflower (scow)
* Mikhail Lermontov
* Maine
* Maloja
* HMS Maori
* SS Maori
* SS Margaret Olwill
* Marguerite
* SS Mauna Loa
* USAT Meigs
* Mendi
* MV Mercedes I
* USCGC Mesquite
* Metamora
* SS Midland City
* USS Mindanao
* Minnedosa
* SS Miowera
* SS Milwaukee
* USS Mizpah
* Miztec
* USCGC Mohawk
* Mohegan
* RMS Moldavia
* SS Monarch
* SS Monrovia
* HMS Montagu
* SS M.M. Drake
* MV RMS Mulheim
* USS Muliphen
* SS Myron

* Nagato
* Niagara
* Niagara (tug)
* HMCS Nipigon
* SS Norman
* Northerner

* Oceana
* SS Onoko
* USS Oriskany
* Oslofjord
* Ozone

* P29
* P31
* SS Panay
* SS Papoose
* Pedernales
* Persier
* HMAS Perth
* SS Pewabic
* SAS Pietermaritzburg
* USS Pilotfish
* Piłsudski
* SS Pioneer
* USCGC Point Swift
* Pool Fisher
* SS Port Kembla
* HMS Port Napier
* Preußen
* President Coolidge
* HMS Prince of Wales

* PS Queen Victoria

* SS R.P. Resor
* Radaas
* USS Rankin
* Rainbow Warrior
* SS Regina
* HMS Repulse
* RMS Rhone
* Riva Palacio
* Robert C. Pringle
* SS Robert Wallace
* USS Rochester
* Rondo
* Rosehill
* Rosinco
* Rotorua
* Rouse Simmons
* Royal Adelaide
* Royal Charter
* Rozi
* SS Russia

* HMS Safari
* Sagamore
* HMCS Saguenay
* Sakawa
* Salem Express
* SS Samuel Mather
* Samuel P. Ely
* Sanko Harvest
* USS Saratoga
* HMCS Saskatchewan
* SS S.C. Baldwin
* USS Schurz
* USS Scuffle
* USS Scrimmage
* HMS Scylla
* SS Selah Chamberlain
* HMS Sidon
* USCGC Spar
* South Australian
* USS Spiegel Grove
* Sport
* Stanegarth
* Stanwood
* Stella
* SS Stepas Darius
* HMS St Lawrence
* SS Superior City
* HMAS Swan
* Sweepstakes

* SS Tahoe
* USCGC Tamaroa
* USS Tarpon
* Thesis
* Thistlegorm
* Thomas Friant
* Thomas Wilson
* Thunderbolt Wreck
* Toa Maru
* HMAS Tobruk
* Tokai Maru
* Torrey Canyon
* SAS Transvaal
* MV Treasure
* HMNZS Tui

* U-40
* U-352
* U-1195
* Um El Faroud

* Varvassi
* USS Vermilion
* SS Vernon
* SS Vienna

* HMNZS Waikato
* Walter L M Russ
* Washingtonian (1913)
* PS Waubuno
* HMNZS Wellington
* SS Wexford
* SS William C. Moreland
* SS Wisconsin
* USS Wilkes-Barre

* USS Yancey
* YO-257
* Yongala
* HMCS Yukon

* Zenobia
* Zealandia
* Zingara

Cave dive sites

Cave diving regions of the world

Cave dive sites:

* Blauhöhle
* Blue hole
* Blue Hole (Red Sea)
* Great Blue Hole
* Blue Hole (Guam)
* Boesmansgat
* Cenote
* Dzibilchaltun
* Chinhoyi Caves
* Cocklebiddy, Western Australia
* Devil's Throat at Punta Sur
* Engelbrecht Cave
* Fossil Cave
* Hranice Abyss
* Jordbrugrotta
* Kilsby sinkhole
* Molnár János Cave
* Nereo Cave
* Piccaninnie Ponds
* Pluragrotta
* Pollatoomary
* Ricks Spring
* The Shaft
* Sistema Dos Ojos
* Sistema Huautla
* Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich
* Sistema Ox Bel Ha
* Sistema Sac Actun
* Uamh an Claonaite
* Vortex Spring
* Wakulla Springs
* Wondergat
* Zacatón

Freshwater dive sites

* Blue Hole (New Mexico)
* Blue Lake (Utah)
* Dinorwic quarry
* Dorothea quarry
* Dutch Springs
* Ewens Ponds
* Homestead caldera
* Little Blue Lake
* Logue Brook Dam
* Ponce de Leon Spring
* Rum Jungle
* Silfra
* Vortex Spring
* Wast Water
* Wazee Lake

Training sites

* Blue Abyss
* Capernwray Dive Centre
* Deep Dive Dubai
* Deepspot
* Eccleston Quarry
* Hotel Terme Millepini
* National Diving and Activity Centre
* Nemo 33
* Seacrest Cove 2
* Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall
* Stoney Cove
* Swanage Pier

Related topics

* Black-water diving
* Blue-water diving
* Low impact diving
* Recreational diving
* Scuba diving
* Scuba diving tourism
* Underwater archaeology
* Underwater diving
* Wall diving

* Outline of recreational dive sites
* Category: Underwater diving sites
* Commons: Category:Recreational dive sites
* Index of recreational dive sites
* Portal:Underwater diving

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template