Cenotes


When flying over the Peninsula you can see circular ground patterns caused by the hidden movement of underground rivers and lakes. The water level rises and falls with the cycle of rain and drought. The constant ebb and flow erodes the underground limestone and it collapses creating steep walled caverns and exposing the water below. Cenote or dzonot meaning "cavity of water" is a term used by the Maya for any subterranean chamber that contains permanent water. While some cenotes are vertical, water-filled shafts, others are caves that contain pools and underwater passageways in their interior. Around these water sources the Maya villages grew since the cenotes were the only source of water, and therefore essential to survival. They were used as sources of drinking water, sources of "virgin" water for religious rites, burial and/or sacrificial sites, art galleries, places of refuge, and mines for clay or minerals.

A cenote nearby highly recommended to visit is: Chochola

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