| One of the 31 states of Mexico is Yucatan. It | | | | caves. The roots of trees found on the land |
| is bordered on the southwest by the state of | | | | above have pushed their way through the rock |
| Campeche, bordered on the east and southeast | | | | and limestone below. |
| by the state of Quintana Roo, and is located | | | | |
| on the Yucatan Peninsula. The Yucatan has | | | | Yucatan is a frequent vacation destination. |
| many features in its relatively flat land. | | | | Cenotes in Yucatan and in other areas of the |
| There are beaches, vast expanses of jungle, | | | | world attract visitors worldwide and even |
| coral reefs, swamps, and even the Puuc hills. | | | | divers who want to explore the vast |
| | | | underwater caves. This underwater world |
| More than half a century ago, the Mayan | | | | stretches for hundreds of miles and has not |
| civilization thrived and prospered in | | | | been fully explored. The most experienced of |
| Yucatan. They relied heavily on the waters | | | | divers still have difficulty navigating |
| from cenotes, which is a sinkhole that | | | | through these waters. Divers often have to |
| contains groundwater that can also be found | | | | squeeze through very tight spaces to continue |
| in the Yucatan Peninsula and some of the | | | | their exploration, which can be dangerous if |
| nearby Caribbean islands. In the Mayan | | | | any equipment is damaged. |
| language, the word cenote means dzonot, a | | | | |
| sacred well. One of the most popular cenotes | | | | It requires a tremendous amount of skill and |
| is the well at Chichen Itza, which was used | | | | knowledge to map out the caves. At this time, |
| for human sacrifice. These holes in the | | | | more than 350 miles of the Yucatan cenotes |
| ground are formed when the rock is dissolved, | | | | have been mapped, but it is an extremely |
| creating a subsurface void. When the water | | | | dangerous feat. The next cenote could be |
| table is below the void in the ceiling, the | | | | hundreds of miles away, and it is easy for |
| rock will collapse at an even faster rate. | | | | divers to get disoriented in direction and |
| | | | lose air. |
| Cenotes vary in size and shape, but the kind | | | | |
| most often seen resemble circular ponds and | | | | Divers use spools of string that they attach |
| can measure many feet in diameter. While the | | | | to rock formations to avoid getting lost. Due |
| water surface in some cenotes is at ground | | | | to the fresh water flowing in from the jungle |
| level, the majority would require some | | | | meeting with the ocean's salt water, it |
| bending to reach the water. There are | | | | creates an illusion in the water, leading |
| thousands of species of fish and plant life | | | | divers to think they have found an area |
| that exist in this underwater network of | | | | without water. |