This article first appeared in upshot 4 of our free digital magazineCURIOUS .
The Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico is unusually savourless topside , but beneath its surface sitvast web of submerged tunnelsand sinkholes known ascenotes . They take form through speleogenesis ( does n’t skill have fun words ? ) as rainwater shuffle with atomic number 6 dioxide in the air and ooze into cracks in the limestone where the lead imperfect window pane slowly ate away at deposits of calcium carbonate , also know as calcite .
When this same acid mingle with common salt water late in the limestone , its erosive power was increased and this is where the greatest dissolution is reckon , creating cavernous spaces with little opening to the external world . Bacteria also play a part in cut up out the cave organisation as they moulder constitutional affair to create H sulfide , which – when mixed with small amounts of disband oxygen – can create sulfuric dose .
Despite these seemingly rough conditions , cenotes contain a surprising diversity of Pisces the Fishes and zooplankton , several of which can only be line up in the Yucatán and are menace by development , contamination , and agrarian overflow .
Beyond the striking caves and curious wildlife , the cenotes are also home to icicle - shape deposits called stalactites and stalagmite which spring as piss dissolve over limestone . Stalactites hang from the ceiling and drip as they actively organise , and it ’s these drops that eventually lead to the development of a pitcher - shaped stalagmite on the floor . Over sentence , stalactite and stalagmites can converge in the middle , forge colonnades that link up in the middle .
While the cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula are a popular tourist bit , they are count sacred in Maya tradition . Researchers diving in cenotes have come across many ancient archaeological artifacts argue their significance , and have even uncoveredmegalodon teethand a9,000 - yr - old human skeleton . The Guardians Of The Cenotes are presently work out to get these sacred sites protect to reduce their defilement , but visitor can help by leaving no trace and not entering a cenote without permission .
Cenotes can be found across the Yucatán Peninsula . While community gain from tourism , it ’s significant to remember to be respectful and responsible should you visit for cut your impact on these sanctified body of water and the peril metal money they contain .
