65 million years ago an asteroid from the depths of space passed through the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. Today the exact point where said body fell has been identified and although many millions of years have passed, the amazing fusion of cosmic material with our Earth’s surface continues to amaze researchers. The remnants of the collision lie in the Chicxulub crater in Yucatán, where a beautiful phenomenon has emerged as a consequence, the amazing ghost rivers that run beneath the bowels of that region of Mexico. But even within these unique aqueous formations in the world called cenotes, there is one that borders on fantasy as it looks like an underwater river that flows into the dream world.
The entire Yucatan Peninsula is plagued by underground aqueous formations through which fresh water from the ghost rivers flows and filters through the limestone stones left by the collision of the . However, of all the cenotes there is one that even further elevates the surprising beauty of the place.
A river inside a cenote
The so-called Angelita cenote is, in crude words, a cave full of water through which a river flows. Confusion may be taking over your mind right now but, this is a river inside a cenote, how is this possible? The reason why it obtains its dreamlike appearance of a river within the water is that when the limestone from which its walls are built collapses, the sediments sink to the lowest part of the cenote. And since it acts as a reservoir of not only fresh but also salty water that filters throughout the subsoil, a decomposition of organic matter occurs.
In turn, this decomposition generates a halocine, which is in other words, a cloud of hydrogen sulfide that ends up separating the fresh water at the top and the salt water at the bottom. The result is a non-homogeneous mixture within the same body of water that borders on the sublime.
In addition to this, there are remains of organic matter that has not yet completely decomposed, such as branches or leaves. Inevitably, what is generated by the entire set of natural phenomena is astonishing and makes one think that one is inside an underwater forest.
It is no coincidence that the Angelita cenote has become one of the favorite places for those who visit it from all over the world to immerse themselves in its magic. Here is a small fragment of The Passenge, a film by the famous French freediver Gillaume Nèry, during his passage through the Angelita cenote in Yucatán, Mexico.