What Are the Cenotes In The Riviera Maya?
For many years I had the pleasure to work as an instructor in the Riviera Maya, and most importantly, I was lucky enough to become a cavern guide. The Cenotes in the Riviera Maya are sinkholes that open into a really extensive subterranean river system in the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), and form a large underwater cave and cavern system. You can dive in these amazing caves with the full cave diver certification. You can also dive in the cavern area under the supervision of a qualified instructor/cave diver.
Cenotes In The Riviera Maya – Their Story
To understand a little bit more what the Cenotes in the Riviera Maya are, here you have a brief story on their formation. During the different ice ages – a time when the ocean levels were much lower than they are today – a gigantic coral reef area became exposed to the atmosphere and eventually became the Yucatan Peninsula. Several large cave and cavern systems were formed when the water penetrated gradually the coral limestone, dissolving this very porous rock. Inside these tunnels, geological formations such as stalactites and stalagmites were formed during that time as well, drop by drop. Many parts of the ceiling of these tunnels eventually collapsed forming different Cenotes or the entrances to the underground system. For that reason, the Cenotes in the Riviera Maya are also called sinkholes because of the ceilings caving in. With time the sea levels increased flooding these tunnels and forming, along with fresh water from the rain, the underwater river system.
