What is Cenote?
[[File:sacred-cenote.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Sacred Cenote]] at [[Chichén Itzá]].]] A '''cenote'''<ref>pronounced in Mexican [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{IPA|[seˈnoˌte]}} and in [[English language|English]] {{IPA|[səˈnəʊˌteɪ]}}, plural: '''cenotes'''; from [[Maya civilisation|Yucatec Maya]] ''dzonot''</ref> is a type of [[:wikt:sinkhole|sinkhole]] that contains groundwater. It is typical in the [[Mexican]] [[Yucatán Peninsula]] and some nearby [[Caribbean]] islands. The term comes from a word used by the lowland [[Maya civilisation|Yucatec Maya]] to refer to any location where groundwater can be got at. == Definition and description == [[File:Cenote_swimming.jpg|thumb|230px|Cenote in [[Quintana Roo]]]] Cenotes are surface connections to underground water bodies.<ref> Gaona-Vizcayno S., T. Gordillo de Anda and M. Villasuso-Pino 1980. ''Cenotes, karst característico: mecanismo de formación''. ''Instituto de Geología'', '''4''', 32-36.</ref> While the most well-known cenotes are large open water pools measuring tens of metres in diameter, such as those at [[Chichén Itzá]], most cenotes are smaller sheltered sites and do not necessarily have any surface exposed water. The term cenote has also been used to describe similar [[karst]] <ref>Karst: feature where water has eroded (dissolved) [[carbonate]] rocks such as [[limestone]] or [[dolomite]].</ref> features in other countries such as [[Cuba]] and [[Australia]], in addition to the more generic term of sinkholes. Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain water infiltrating slowly through the ground. The groundwater flow rate within a cenote may be very slow at velocities ranging from 1 to 1000 meters per year. Cenotes around the world attract [[Cave diving|cave divers]]. They have explored extensive flooded cave systems, some of which have been investigated for 100 kilometers or more. == Cause == Cenotes in or near the Yukatán may have been caused by the [[Chicxulub]] meteor impact 60 million years ago.<ref>Pope KO; Ocampo AC; Kinsland GL; Smith