Cenotes
Pronounced:
say-NOH-tay
Description:
Water-filled caverns that may extend up to the surface.
Formation:
Formed during the ice ages when the water table was much lower than it is today. Rain water seeping into cracks in the ground gradually dissolved away limestone to form large cave systems. When the roof of the cave became too thin to support it’s own weight it collapsed to form the steep-sided hole in the ground of a typical cenote. The rise of sea level resulting from the melting of most of the ice caused the water table to rise and fill many of the cenotes.
There are known to be over 3000 cenotes, though only about half have been explored.
The water in cenotes is 78F and crystal clear and many are popular swimming places.
The locals distinguish four types of cenotes:
1. completely underground: undergound caverns roofed with only a thin layer of surface limestone.
2. semi-underground: as erosion continues, the thin roof eventually collapses, leaving an open, water-filled hole.
3. at land level: like a normal lake, but with no surface rivers, filled by water from underground.
4. open wells: water runs out of the cenote, forming springs or wells.
There are no surface rivers in the Yucatan and so cenotes were very important to the Maya people as a supply of fresh water. Many cenotes appear to have been places of worship and sacrifice, including human sacrifice.