Cenote

A cenote (English: or ; American Spanish: [seˈnote]) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly used for water supplies by the ancient Maya, and occasionally for sacrificial offerings. The term derives from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya—tsʼonoʼot—to refer to any location with accessible groundwater.

The Yucatán Peninsula has an estimated 10,000 cenotes, water-filled sinkholes naturally formed by the collapse of limestone, located across the Yucatán Peninsula, in Mexico. Some of these cenotes are at risk from the construction of the new tourist Maya Train.

Similar rock-sided sinkholes like cenotes are common geological forms in low-altitude regions, particularly on islands, coastlines, and platforms with young post-Paleozoic limestone with little soil development. The term cenote has also been used to describe similar karst features in other countries such as Cuba and Australia.