This swimming pool is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. Acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest swimming pool, it took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million.
The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile’s southern coast. The saltwater pool contains 250,000 cubic meters of water and is even navigable in small boats.
Chile’s monster pool uses a computer- controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other.
The sun warms the water to 26c, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea.
Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build “an impressive artificial paradise” even in inhospitable areas.
“As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, and it causes no damage to the ocean.”
