Karstbase Bibliography Database

The Yucatán Peninsula is one of the largest limestone platforms in the world. The Mexico isthmus region of the peninsula is a low-relief pitted karst plain containing few surface drainage systems or lakes. Karst windows punctuate the scrubby terrain, exposing a shallow aquifer that engulfs an ancient dry cave environment. These openings, called cenotes, allow modern explorers to document a growing assemblage of deep underwater sinks, and exceptionally long and complex underwater cave systems. Deep classic sinks are common to the interior of the isthmus. Long horizontal caves remain a coastal phenomenon. Their complexity is derived from irregular sea-level fluctuations produced during Pleistocene glaciations. Fractures within the parent strata and tidal fluctuations of the halocline are crucial elements in sustaining extant speleogenesis.