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The Cenotes of the Yucatan

The Yucatan peninsula has virtually no surface streams due to its limestone foundation -- a relic of its past life as coral reef on the bottom of the ocean. Ground water sinks through the porous limestone and travels to the sea in underground rivers and caves (formed from millennia of acidified water dissolving conduits in the limestone). To date, almost sixty cave systems with more than 300 miles of passageways have been discovered.

These underwater streams can be accessed through cenotes, sinkholes in the surface limestone. Below you will find pictures from a surface cenote and a cave cenote. Because the water is mineral rich and remarkably clear, plant growth is especially vigorous.

Marvel at the millions of stalactites and stalagmites that decorate the galleries below, as beams of natural light stream in from the Cancun Cenotes just above. Featured in the Guinness Book of World Records, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Life, National Geographic, Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine, and dozens of other articles the Cancun Cenotes are fabulous. Now vastly explored, yet incredibly preserved and pristine, these underwater caves of the Yucatan are a must-see for cave enthusiasts, and for everyone else too.

(Article from: www.cancundiscounts.com )