… and over this past weekend, I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon reading about the geology and hydrogeology of the Yucatán peninsula.

In the process, I came across this completely amazing photo that I had to share.

This is Xbulla, a cenote that was once on land, but as time passed and the coastline moved, it became submerged in the sea. But as you can see, fresh water still flows freely from the mouth of the cenote, creating an amazing upwelling about 0.5 km offshore in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

P/C: The Hydrogeology of the Yucatán, Perry, Velazquez-Oliman, and Socki

I’ve seen fresh water springs in the ocean before. They’re actually fairly common along the coast of Florida and Hawai’i, where large amounts of freshwater flows through the rock (kaartstic limestone in Florida and the Yucatán, volcanic rock in Hawai’i). But I’ve never seen a flow rate like this where the freshwater actually causes a bump in the ocean surface!

For instance, at Crescent Beach in Florida, there’s a spring that’s visible from the surface:

P/C Seaxp.com

That circular patch of water is the freshwater flowing upward and dampening the waves at that point.

As remarkable as that is, it’s not quite as vigorous as Xbulla. It’s pretty placid and quiet.

Alas, I haven’t been able to spot Xbulla on Google Earth or Maps, although I know it’s located near the tiny village of Mina de Oro (click on that link if you want to see where it is).

Anyone have any good images of Xbulla or other dramatic submarine freshwater springs?

Search on!