Definition: Cenotes are limestone sinkholes that are filled with water. There are thousands in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and scuba diving or snorkeling in the cenotes is very popular with visitors to the Riviera Maya and Cancun. The Yucatan Peninsula is, in part, a mega-sized slab of limestone. As ground water drips through the limestone caverns are created. Eventually, the top collapses in many spots creating cenotes. The Mayans called cenotes "sacred wells." The Mayans used the wells for drinking water, to irrigate crops, and for religious ceremonies. Scuba divers exploring cenotes at Chichen Itza have come up with copper, gold necklaces and skeletons of humans that may have been offerings to their gods.
To read Richard Friedland's article about scuba diving in Dos Ochos cenote in Mexico's Riviera Maya, near Cancun, visit Cave diving in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Pronunciation: seh-NO-tay
Also Known As: deep wells, sacred wells
Examples:
Scuba diving in the cenote we swam between stalagmites and stalactites. Every once in awhile we swam past an overhead opening in the limestone rock and the sun illuminated the cave.
