Xkeken Cenote, Yucatan, Mexico
The cenote, a natural sinkhole, is particularly a phenomenon of the Yucatan peninsula. Mildly acid rainwater dissolves limestone, creating caves. Sometimes, part of the roof of a cave chamber collapses, exposing to the daylight a bell-shaped cavern and an underground stream. (Occasionally the collapse may be less than 1 m in diameter.) The Maya used cenotes as a source of drinking water, or for ritual sacrifices. There are over six thousand of them in the Yucatan Peninsula. Some, as here, are accessible to swimmers. The numerous fish in the foreground have adapted to the darkness. The high ISO required for this image has inevitably created more grain than desirable.
150218 148
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All images are the property of the photographer and may not be reproduced, copied, downloaded, transmitted or used in any way without the written permission of the photographer, who can be contacted by registering with flickr and using flickrmail.
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Xkeken Cenote, Yucatan, Mexico
The cenote, a natural sinkhole, is particularly a phenomenon of the Yucatan peninsula. Mildly acid rainwater dissolves limestone, creating caves. Sometimes, part of the roof of a cave chamber collapses, exposing to the daylight a bell-shaped cavern and an underground stream. (Occasionally the collapse may be less than 1 m in diameter.) The Maya used cenotes as a source of drinking water, or for ritual sacrifices. There are over six thousand of them in the Yucatan Peninsula. Some, as here, are accessible to swimmers. The numerous fish in the foreground have adapted to the darkness. The high ISO required for this image has inevitably created more grain than desirable.
150218 148
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All images are the property of the photographer and may not be reproduced, copied, downloaded, transmitted or used in any way without the written permission of the photographer, who can be contacted by registering with flickr and using flickrmail.
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