Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Strange Fact about the Yucatan

Watching one of the many episodes of BBC's Planet Earth production, which I recommend highly, as such a collection of beautiful pictures is a priceless document for posterity, one of the many things one can learn is a fact that has stuck with me about the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Yucatan Peninsula has virtually no lakes or rivers. The ground is a loose cover of dirt on top of a relatively thin layer of solid rock, and the only fresh water to speak of is held in caves underneath that rock layer. Those caves are mostly connected as well, and were one of the Mayans most treasured resources.

What look like small lakes or water holes along the peninsula are actualy openings to the cave system, a series of what the Mayans called cenotes--precious access to fresh water.

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