Cenotes
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Cenotes
Cenotes (prounounced: seh-no-tay), a term unique to
Mexico and Central America, originates from the Mayan "dzonot" and
translates as "abyss"; but this simple term conjures a depth of meaning.
As a phenomenon of nature, they are freshwaters ink holes created by the
erosion of the soft, porous limstone; but, as the wellspring of life in
the Mundo Maya, they are the sustenance of life, an entrance to the
wonders of the afterworld, the focus of commune with the gods. Around
these sources of water Maya villages grew, and village cenote became the
crucial significance of their survival.
In the Yucatan Peninsula, aboveground freshwater rivers are almost
nonexistent; instead, the region is honeycombed with subterranean rivers
that seem almost of another world. Many cenotes give access to these
underground waterways and one of the most exciting experiences uniquely
available in this part of the world is to dive or snorkel to explore
these wondrous, mysterious cenotes and their hidden rivers.
Today at least 440 cenotes have been located among the apporximately
four thousand that are believed to exist in the State of Yucatan.
We suggest that you explore these cenotes with professionals.
Formation of a Cenote
Mexico's Yucatan peninsula is a stone plane of porous
limestone that absorbs moisture like a giant sponge. When rainwater
filters through the earth it dissolves it, creating caverns that are
totally or partially flooded. These then separate from the surface layer
of limstone.
The cenotes are formed when a cavern collapses, mainly because of
erosion, to reveal an underground source of water.
With time, in a process that can take thousands of years, constant
erosion deposits a great amount of organic and mineral sediment in a
cenote, reducing its depth. Cenotes vary a great deal in size, which is
pincipally affected by age. The older cenotes are open, with large
vertical walls that give them the appearance of large wells, like the
Sacred Well at Chichen Itza in the state of Yucatan. There are also
partially open cenotes, where the ceiling only partly caves in, like the
Zaci cenote in Valladolid, in the same state, or Gran Cenote, in the
south of Quintana Roo. Some are almost closed, with little more than
small access points that are long and sinuous, through which it is only
possible to enter crawling. Old cenotes are eventually filled in by
centuries of silt deposits.
Cenote Dzitnup, one of the most visited caverns in the Mexican state of
Yucatan, where people have found utensils the Mayans used to honor their
gods.
Well-known life-forms is the blind white Dama (Ogilbia pearsie). This
small fish has colorless eyes and no skin pigmentation, which creates a
rare white iridescent glow that turns pink when light hits it. These
strange fish only exist in the Yucatan peninsula.
The blind eel (Ophisterno infernaleis), also indigenous to this region,
grows to seventy centimeters long and lives buried in the mud. Cenote
eels (Synbranchus marmoratus), grow to one and a half meters long and
have very small eyes. The eels however, are not unique to the Yucatan
peninsula, having a wide range of habitats that extend from Mexico all
the way to Argentina.
Various species of shrimp, as well as other small invertebrates that are
either blind or have very small eyes, inhabit in cenotes. One odd thing
about these creatures is that they live in total darkness, completely
isolated from the outside world, yet follow the same circadian- or 24
hour- daily cycle, that surface dwellers follow.
In the later part of the 20th century, serious research into cenote
fauna was begun. The studies were made possible by highly specialized
diving equipment, which has allowed the exploration of once inaccessible
sites. Daring divers have discovered a new species, the Speleonectes
tulumensis, an animal that is blind, colorless and lvies in absolute
darkness. It was discovered in a cenote next to a Mayan archeological
site in Tulum. Later, the same species was found in Belize. The
speleonectes tulumensis is a type of primitive crustacean which looks
like a crab, has numerous legs like a centipede and swims like a
centipede.
The speleonectes measures between two and a half to three centimeters
long. It lives in cenotes containing a layer of salt water underneath a
later of fresh water, in a region almost totally void of oxygen. Most
fish would die in such an environment, but for Speleonectes tulumensis,
oxygen-poor water is vital; the fish reacts frantically when transferred
to more oxygenated water. It begins swimming non-stop until, in a few
days, it has exhausted itself to death.
In addition to these unusual animals, many fresh water fish, live in
cenotes. The two most common species are the Bagre (Rhamdia
guatemalensis) and the Mojarrita (Cichlasoma urophtalmus). The bagre is
a whiskered fish that grows to ten to fifteen centimeters long and
exists thoughout Central America. The Mojarrita reaches ten centimeters
and is known for the dark vertical stripes across its body.
In the last decade cenotes have become hot tourist attractions, often as
the focus of the ecotourism packages. For a family, Cenotes are a true
wonder; not only are they mother nature's marvelous and unique
phenomenon, they also made it possible for a civilization to flourish in
an otherwise hostile terrain. Thanks to the conservation efforts of the
ancients, today they are helping indigenous communities earn a better
living.
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