Lagoa Misteriosa - stock photo

Lagoa Misteriosa, which translates as Mysterious Lagoon is a lake at the bottom of a sinkhole, a type of geological formation common in limestone regions. This lake of transparent waters impresses visitors for its incredible depth. It is considered one of the deepest submerged caves in Brazil, with more than 220 meters of water column (maximum depth reached by professional cave diver Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira, in 1998), which explains why it is called mysterious. Lagoa Misteriosa is a phreatic cave, that is, was formed by the flow of underground water that dissolved the limestone in its passage. These types of caves usually are flooded and do not have fragile mineral deposits, such as speleothems.