[lilkim (OP)]

In Mexico mostly Cancun area..there are these underground rivers...they say they were built by the Mayans for drinking water since the water in them is fresh water and super cold. Yet, the rivers are connected to the ocean and it is very very hot there I was wondering how they built these caves for the water and why it is fresh water when it should be saly since it is connected to the ocean?

B free!!!

[lilkim (OP)]

I don't know if i spelled cinotes right but they are pronounced....sin note eh. and they are beatiful and mysterious, you can see the tree roots from the jungle above you when you are in one and it is pitch dark unless you bring a light, the water is very clear and you get to one by trecking thru jungle till you come across this hole in the ground and since they have made tourist attraction out of them there are usually hand made wooen stairs to climb down into the hole to reach the water. I just dont get how the mayans could have made such caves like that or how the darn water is drinkable when it should be salty......pondering...

B free!!!

[neilep]

Kim...I've changed the name of your thread so that people know what it's about before reading it.

I found this link........amazing http://www.xcaret.com/park-attractions/underground-rivers.php

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[lilkim (OP)]

thanks neil...great site...i am new to this...my son tony put me on it and it is rather interesting and informative, but i guess i still need to get the hang of how or what to post..

B free!!!

[lilkim (OP)]

I stayed at xcaret, it is an ecological park, i fed the manaties and swam with the dalphins and there are iguanas (huge) EVERYWHERE you walk there.....it is I would say definatly AMAZING!!!

B free!!!

[neilep]

Ahhhhh....you is Tonys Mummy !!

Welcome Kim....

Shall we tell you of all the naughty things he's been doing ? []


That must have been fanatsic swimming with manatees and dolphins !!......awesome !!!

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[JimBob]

I feel obligated to be pendantic a little. It will give a little more science to the discussion.

A "cinote" is a karst feature. "Karst" is described as "A type of topography that is formed in limestone, gypsym and other rocks by dissolution, and characterized by sink holes, caves and undreground drainage." (Glossayr of Geology, Second Edition, American Geological Institute)

The Yucatan is a limestone shelf that grew out of the early Gulf of Mexico starting in the Cretaceous. The underground rivers are part of the drainage system that starts above sea level and flows down to sea level. "Cinote" is commonly used to denote a water filled sink hole either above or below ground by usuall above ground. Please note that underground rivers are the exception to the way water is stored undergroung, not the normal.

No one built these cenotes. They are naturally occuring drainage features. The Maya used them for sacrifice and offerings. During periods of drough, they were often the only avalable water supply so they became holy places.

Professer Gibberish






The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein

[4getmenot]

Ahhhhh....you is Tonys Mummy !!

Welcome Kim....

Shall we tell you of all the naughty things he's been doing ?


That must have been fanatsic swimming with manatees and dolphins !!......awesome !!!



Yep.....Thanks Niel...I pretty much know what naughty things he does and unfortanatly can not stop him from continuing, perhaps you guys can enlighten him as to the consequeces(i no spelled wrong)lol...he is a great and smart kid when it comes to only things HE likes...but with other stuff such as emotions and treatment or respect to other people we have some work cut out.....

the cenotes are awsome though...and i go back every year when possible, but the tour guides and such always say that they were created by the Mayans and so that is why i asked the question as to how...seems i was fooled and now have an excellent true explination from jimbob...Thanks Jimbob.


By the way...i forgot my password...so resigned up with a new one.....

k

[4getmenot]

y is the water not salty when it is all connected to the ocean??? i know there is current etc...but you would think the saltwater would still be the main water in there since it comes from the ocean.

k

[JimBob]

The fresh water of the cinotes is "perched" - it is on a semi-permiable rock surface above level of the sea and flows down to the sea. This is one of the few places in geology where the comparison of underground drainage to rivers is accurate. A river is fresh water until it gets to sea level where it mixes with the sea water.


The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein

[4getmenot]

Yeah but, the cenotes do not come from a river...they are completely plenished by the ocean water...it goes in from the ocean and flows back out to the ocean....so are you saying basically that once it goes in it runs over rocks to make it fresh water and then turns back into salty water once it gets back in???

k

[JimBob]

Your experience must have been the exception to the normal occuance of cenotes. (For a fairly lucid discussion of cenotes see: http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-cenotes.htm )

Cenotes are almost invariably fresh water sources. I can envision how a pounding surf can eat away at a limestone coastline opening caves to the sea. Cenotes are afterall, sinkhole, a type of cave.



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein

[4getmenot]

hmm

k