World's Largest Swimming Pool - Chile

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up
on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.









It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end
and holds 66 million gallons of water.

Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the
sea in Chile as the biggest in the world.

But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own - and you have the
space to accommodate it - then beware: This one took five years to
build, cost nearly ?billion and the annual maintenance bill will be
?million.

The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San
Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile 's southern coast, since
it opened last month.

Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom
even in the deep end.

It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb - nicknamed the
Big Splash - in Morocco , which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards
wide. An Olympic size pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.

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.