How cool? The Largest Pool in the World...

In January, not long after it's opening, this 1,013 yard long swimming pool was named the biggest in the world in the Guinness Book of Records. So if you like doing laps in the swimming pool you may want to think twice before embracing this one. At over 1,000 yards long the swimming pool covers 20 acres, has a deep end that's 115ft deep and holds an incredible 66 million gallons of water! The pool took 5 years to build and cost almost £1billion and the yearly maintenance bill is expected to reach £2 million. So if you're thinking about splashing out on a lagoon of your own and have the 20 acres to put it in.... Beware, it's a costly business! Since the man-made salt water lagoon opened, it has attracted crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on the southern coast of  Chile. The turquoise waters are so crystal clear that even when in the deep end, you can still see the bottom. This Chile swimming pool makes the second largest pool in the world, the Orthlieb in Morocco, which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide, look tiny! If you're having problems trying to visualise the size, an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 yards long by 25 yards wide. The salt-water pool holds 250,000 cubic metres of water and is navigable in small boats. It uses a computer-controlled suction and filtration system which allows fresh seawater to permanently circulate, drawing it in from the sea at one end of the pool and pumping it out at the other. The sun heats the water to 26C which is 9C warmer than the sea at the San Alfonso del Mar resort. Fernando Fischmann, the Chilean biochemist whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool said: “Advanced engineering has allowed up to build an impressive artificial paradise, even in inhospitable areas.” “As long as we have unlimited seawater supplies, it will work, and it doesn't cause any damage to the sea.”