HOW MEXICO'S YUCATÁN SINKHOLES AND UNDERGROUND RIVERS WERE FORMED

 

Photo MexicanCaribbeanTravel

CENOTES

PART 2

The Yucatán Peninsula emerged 65 million years ago as a vast coral reef according to geologists. As the oceans receded, mollusks died, creating the limestone shelf that now covers the Peninsula's porous land. Rain waters filtered down into the substructure and created underground rivers. After the last ice age, the oceans rose to their current levels and flooded the caves left by the lacy limestone shelves, collapsing some, creating sinkholes, commonly known as cenotes in Yucatán. Though not unique to the Yucatán, cenotes are fairly uncommon geological formations, and they can vary considerably in shape and size.

Image from CenoteFinder

Although cenotes are plentiful in the Yucatán, with thousands known, exploring them is a fairly new phenomenon. In the 1980s, geologists identified 21 variations and have since narrowed these down to five basic types: open air, angled wall, vertical wall as at Chichen Itza, cavern pool with stalactites, and underground domed.

Open air Carwash Cenote near Tulum (photo theworldisaplayground.com)

CAVE SYSTEMS

Some cenotes have small surface openings but unfold into an intricate cave system that can literally run for miles. This cenote type is popular with cave divers and tackled by professionals like diver Mike Madden, formerly of Puerto Morelos. Madden did some of the first explorations near Tulum, Quintana Roo, under the auspices of CEDAM (Club de Exploraciones y Deportes Acuaticos de Mexico) earning a spot in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records for documenting the world's longest underwater cave system—168,400 feet in all—called Giant Birdhouse or in Mayan, Nohoch Nah Chich. Madden's explorations proved that an intricate series of meandering underground waterways exists, connecting cenote to cenote.

Nohoch Nah Chich Cenote (photo Steve Gerrard)

Considered an extreme sport, cave diving is gaining popularity and it's not uncommon to bump into serious divers on Yucatán's cenote route.

In colonial Valladolid, 28 miles east of Chichen Itza, Cenote Zaci can be found. A cavern pool 150 feet wide, its turquoise waters show off stalactites and there is a walkway around the entire cenote, to better view the massive pool. An adjoining restaurant lights up the area at night for diners who can either eat inside or on an expansive deck overlooking the fresh water pool.

MOST PHOTOGRAPHED CENOTE

Four miles south of Valladolid off a narrow, two-lane road is Centoe Dzitnup. An underground cenote with angled walls, it has a hole in its ceiling where sunlight streams in at mid-day. Tree roots stretch down from the rocky ceiling to reach the clear, still waters below. One of the most photographed of Yucatán's cenotes, a steep slippery descent leads one into this underground cavern.

Underground Cenote Dzitnup (photo Cliff Wassman)

Ten miles north of Merida, Yucatán's capital made famous for manufacturing Panama hats at the turn of the 20th century, Xlacah Cenote can be found at the Dzibilchaltun ruins. A popular cooling off spot, this open air cenote is not connected to any underground pools and seems more like a local swimming hole than a cenote.

AMAZING CAVES IMAX FILM

Dos Ojos (photo HiddenWorlds)

Leaving Yucatán and entering Riviera Maya territory, cenotes dot Highway 307 south of Playa del Carmen, 42 miles from Cancun. Dos Ojos, south of Playa, was the site of the Amazing Caves IMAX diving film. The film shows stunning footage of underground caverns with stalactites and stalagmites, and was the highest grossing giant screen documentary film of 2001. Well worth a watch.

IMAX Journey Into Amazing Caves (Blu-Ray review)

Aktun-Chen combines both a cenote and the area's largest caves within a massive rainforest park, ten miles north of the Tulum pyramids. A bit further south at the Coba pyramid turnoff, Car Wash Cenote is located on a road dotted with sinkholes. A wide pool, unspectacular at first sight but good for swimming, Car Wash opens into an underwater cave where freshwater tropical fish cruise alongside turtles.

SOUTHERN CENOTES

Heading south to Belize, Cenote Azul is located in Bacalar, 25 miles north of QRoo's capitol, Chetumal. Situated near Bacalar's famous Lagoon of the Seven Colors, the second largest fresh water lake in Mexico, Cenote Azul is Mexico's largest cenote. Stretching 600 feet in diameter, this stunning turquoise-colored cenote is a perfect spot for a swim. 

Cenote Azul near Bacalar (photo LocoGringo.com)

This vast peninsula, comprised of low scrub jungles and knockout white sand beaches, was considered "the most savage coast in Central America" only 60 years ago. No paved road existed in Quintana Roo, now home to Cancun, which was then just a territory.

 

It would not become Mexico's 31st state until 1973. Trying hard to overturn their mediocre at best ecological record, the Mexico government established the 1.3 million acre Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve in 1986 in Quintana Roo, in hopes of preserving this outstanding piece of Mother Nature.

Sian Ka'an Eco Biosphere Reserve (photo UNESCO)

SIAN KA'AN UNESCO SITE

Named a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the biosphere encompasses hundreds of species of local birds, plants, mammals and fish along with acres of mangroves, lagoons and savannas. Sian Ka'an is all about eco-tourism and the preservation of this massive stretch of land, which covers one third of the Caribbean coast of Mexico. The reserve contains a buffer zone where limited human activity is allowed, such as bone-fishing or boat trips through the lagoons out to the Great Meso-American Reef, the world's second largest reef.

These cenotes are but a handful of many the Yucatán Peninsula has to offer. Local tour guides and guidebooks can lead to spur of the moment or planned cenote adventures, plus ensure a cool dip in a crystal clear fresh water pool for your efforts as a reward.

For more information on Mexico, the Maya and the Yucatán, subscribe to my bi-monthly blog above or check out my website, www.jeaninekitchel.com. I'm also author of a travel memoir, Where the Sky is Born: Living in the Land of the Maya, that details how I bought land, built a house and became an expat in a fishing village on the Mexican Caribbean coast. It's available on Amazon, as are books one and two in my crime thriller trilogy, Wheels Up—A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival, along with Tulum Takedown.