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The Cenotes Autor: 15-06-2010

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A cenote (Maya ts'ono'ot: cave with water) [1] is a flooded karstic sinkhole that is in some deep caverns, have collapsed as a result of the roof of one or more caves. There they meet the groundwater, forming a more or less deep pond. There are several types of cenotes: open pit and underground or semi-cave. This classification is directly related to the age of the cenote, being the mature cenotes those who are completely open and the youngest who still retain its dome intact. Like many other geomorphological structures, the cenotes are transitional structures, which may ultimately end up stuffed and dried, becoming part of what is known as a paleokarst [2]. Its morphology is often typically subcircular, with steep walls. On the evolution of karst massif, the cenote begins as an underground chamber produced by the dissolution of the limestone by rainwater infiltration. Eventually, as the cavity size increases, the cenote may end surging to the surface of the dome collapse. Cenotes were formed during periods of low sea level during the pulses of the Pleistocene glaciers. The cenotes are, in most cases, widening of complex ground water systems, which sometimes find their way to the sea. In these, the sea water more dense than freshwater, it can penetrate the bottom of the groundwater system. Therefore, there are sinkholes in which certain depth from the water goes from sweet to salty, even many miles from the coast. This interface between freshwater and marine called halocline, causing interesting visual effects. Speleology has been demonstrated in the Yucatan Peninsula the existence of interconnections between wells and between them and the sea [3], demonstrating a genuine system of underground runoff [4]. The cenotes are geomorphological structures typical of the limestone platform of the Yucatan Peninsula and the peninsula of Florida. There are cenotes very similar in the Nullarbor Plain, north of the Great Australian Bight, and also in the Bahamas, where they are known as blue or blue holes holes.

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