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thumb at Chichén Itzá.]]
A cenote ( or ; ; plural: cenotes; from Yucatec Maya dzonot or ts'onot,
Definition and descriptionCenotes are surface connections to subterranean water bodies.
Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain water infiltrating slowly through the ground, and therefore contains very little suspended particulate matter. The groundwater flow rate within a cenote may be very slow at velocities ranging from per year. In many cases, cenotes are areas where sections of cave roof have collapsed revealing an underlying cave system, and the water flow rates here may be much faster: up to per day.
Geology and hydrologythumb]]
=Formation=
Cenotes are formed by dissolution of rock and the resulting subsurface void, which may or may not be linked to an active cave system, and the subsequent structural collapse of the rock ceiling above the void. The rock that falls into the water below will then be slowly removed by further dissolution, creating space for more collapse blocks. The rate of collapse increases during periods when the water table is below the ceiling of the void, since the rock ceiling is no longer buoyantly supported by the water in the void. Cenotes may be fully collapsed creating an open water pool, or partially collapsed with some portion of a rock overhang above the water. The stereotypical cenotes often resemble small circular ponds, measuring some tens of meters in diameter with sheer drops at the edges. Most cenotes, however, require some degree of stooping if not crawling to access the water.
=Penetration and extent=
In the north and north-west of the Yucatan Peninsula, the cenotes generally overlie vertically extensive voids penetrating below the modern water table. However, very few of these cenotes appear to be connected with horizontally extensive underground river systems, with water flow through them being more likely dominated by aquifer matrix and fracture flows.
=Freshwater/seawater interface=
The Yucatan Peninsula contains a vast coastal aquifer system, which is typically density-stratified.
=Types of cenotes=
thumbs, suggesting a prehistoric oceanic basin in the depression left by the impact (Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech).]]
In 1936, a simple morphometry-based classification system for cenotes was presented.
=Association of the buried Chicxulub Impact structure with Surface Cenotes=
Although cenotes are found widely throughout much of the Yucatan Peninsula, a higher density circular alignment of cenotes overlies the measured rim of the Chicxulub Crater. This crater structure, identified from the alignment of cenotes,
Cenotes and the Maya
The Yucatan Peninsula has almost no rivers and only a few lakes, and those are often marshy. The widely distributed cenotes are the only perennial source of potable quality water and have long been the principal sources of water in much of the Yucatán Peninsula. Major Maya settlements required access to adequate water supplies, and therefore cities, including the famous Chichén Itzá, were built around these natural wells. Some cenotes like the Cenote of Sacrifice in Chichén Itzá played an important role in Maya rites. Believing that these pools were gateways to the afterlife, the Maya sometimes threw valuable items into them. The discovery of golden sacrificial artifacts in some cenotes led to the archaeological exploration of most cenotes in the first part of the 20th century. Edward Herbert Thompson, an American diplomat who had bought the Chichén Itzá site, began dredging the Sacred Cenote there in 1904. He discovered human skeletons and sacrificial objects confirming a local legend, the Cult of the Cenote, involving human sacrifice to the rain gods (Chaacs) by ritual casting of victims and objects into the cenote.
Cenotes and cave diving
Cenotes have attracted cave divers and there are organised efforts to explore and map the underwater systems. The Quintana Roo Speleological Survey maintains a list of the longest and deepest water filled and dry caves within the state boundaries.
Notable cenotes
=Mexico=
;Yucatan Peninsula
Dos Ojos, near Tulum, Mexico
Dzibilchaltun, Yucatan, Mexico
Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza, Mexico
Xtacunbilxunan, Bolonchen , Mexico
;Central and Northern Region
Zacatón, Tamaulipas, Mexico
=Canada=
Devil's Bath, northern Vancouver Island, Canada
=United States=
Bottomless Lakes, near Roswell, New Mexico
Montezuma's Well, Verde Valley, Arizona
=Australia=
Ewens Ponds, near Mount Gambier, South Australia
Notes
[Gaona-Vizcayno, S; Gordillo de Anda, T; M. Villasuso-Pino, M (1980). Cenotes, karst característico: Mecanismo de formacíon, Instituto de Geología, v. 4; pp 32-36.]
[Hall, F.G. (1936), Physical and chemical survey of cenotes of Yucatán, Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 457, pp 5-16.]
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References
|authorlink=Real Academia Española |year=2001 |title=Diccionario de la lengua española |url=http://www.rae.es/RAE/Noticias.nsf/Home?ReadForm |format=online version |edition=22nd |location=Madrid |publisher=Editorial Espasa Calpe |isbn=84-239-6814-6 |oclc=48657242}}
: |authorlink=Robert Sharer|coauthors=with |year=2006 |title=The Ancient Maya |edition=6th, fully revised |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, CA |isbn=0-8047-4816-0 |oclc=28067148|ref=SharerTraxler}}
External links
[http://www.geo.utexas.edu/zacaton/ Sistema Zacatón]
[http://www.geo.utexas.edu/zacaton/DEPTHX/Mission2-Blogs/2007-03-08/articles_and_papers/Gary_and_Sharp2006.pdf Volcanic karstification of Sistema Zacaton, Mexico (Gary, Sharp, 2006)]
[http://www.smm.org/sln/ma/formation.html Stages in the Formation of a Cenote]
[http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Karst/Doline.html Doline, Sinkhole, Cenote]
[http://www.smm.org/sln/ma/cenote.html Cenotes of Chichén Itzá]
[http://www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrss.htm Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS)]
[http://www.ridarelli.net/cenotes/english/ Year 1999 Cenotes Conference in Perugia, Italy]
[http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/Chicxulub/Discovering_crater.html Maps of Chicxulub and Ring of Cenotes]
Category:Cave geology
Category:Natural history of Mesoamerica
Category:Locations in Maya mythology
Category:Lakes
Category:Sinkholes
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