Explore Mexico's Cenotes
Characteristic of the Yucatan Peninsula, cenotes are natural sinkholes that form when the roof of a cavern collapses. The Mayans believed the mysterious formations were entrances to the underworld.
The Cenote Sagrado, near the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza, was once a site of sacrifice to the Mayan rain god Chac. In the early 1900s, archaeologist Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the famous cenote and found copper, gold bells, rings, masks, cups, figurines and embossed plaques. He also found evidence of human sacrifice.