| Baatara gorge sinkhole | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Baatara gorge sinkhole | |
| Location | Chatine,Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 34°10.406′N35°52.222′E / 34.173433°N 35.870367°E /34.173433; 35.870367 |
| Type | Plunge |
| Number of drops | 1 |
| Longest drop | 90–100 m (300–330 ft) |
TheBaatara gorge sinkhole (Baatara gorge waterfall) is awaterfall in theChatine,Lebanon[1] nearBalaa.
The waterfall drops 255 metres (837 ft) into the Balaa Pothole, a cave ofJurassiclimestone[2] located on theLebanon Mountain Trail.[3] The cave is also known as the Cave of the Three Bridges.[4] Traveling fromLaklouk toTannourine one passes the village of Balaa, and the Three Bridges Chasm (in FrenchGouffre des Trois Ponts) is a five-minute journey into the valley below where one sees threenatural bridges, rising one above the other and overhanging a chasm descending intoMount Lebanon. During the spring melt, a 90–100-metre (300–330 ft) cascade falls behind the three bridges and then down into the 240-metre (790 ft) chasm.[5]
Discovered to the western world in 1952 by French bio-speleologist Henri Coiffait,[6] the waterfall and accompanyingsinkhole were fully mapped in the 1980s by theSpéléo club du Liban.[7] A 1988 fluorescent dye test demonstrated that the water emerged at the spring of Dalleh inMgharet al-Ghaouaghir[8][9] (located near Balaa).[10]
De ses 240 mètres de hauteur ... C'est le plus impressionnant des trois, surtout que durant la saison de fonte des neiges, une cascade d'eau s'y forme, tombant en chute libre sur 90 mètres.