Optical Illusion of The Day: The Underground River in Cenote Angelita

The Underground River in Cenote Angelita

Posted: 21 Dec 2015 05:41 AM PST

Well, the snow didn’t last here. It’s almost already gone. I guess its time to give up thoughts of a white Christmas and start thinking of summer vacation. And, this summer, I think I’m going to strap on some SCUBA tanks and go diving! I don’t know how to SCUBA dive, but hey! Gotta learn sometime, right? Seems lie a fun time. Maybe I’ll go visit this underwater river…

underwater river

This underwater river is one of the world’s most interesting and amazing diving oddities in the world. Located in Yucatan, Mexico, Cenote Angelita is actually an underwater cave in the Riviera Maya. It’s also a pretty awesome optical illusion! It appears to be a flowing underwater river. The banks of the river on either side and the trees jutting from it just affirm this natural optical illusion…

Cenote angelita underwater river

This underwater river, though, isn’t a river at all. It’s an illusion created by saltwater from the sea and freshwater from the rain being trapped in the cenote, or sinkhole. That in itself is not necessarily unusual. What makes this an underwater river illusion is the layer of hydrogen sulfite trapped between the top layer of freshwater and the denser, heavier saltwater. The hydrogen sulfite occurs due to the breakdown of organic matter and clash between the saltwater and freshwater, and it appears cloudy. The contrast of this band of cloudy liquid against the clear water creates the illusion of the underwater river.

One thing’s for sure. This definitely makes for some fun photo ops for divers!

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If you’re still having trouble picturing how this river underwater is formed, here’s a fantastic illustration found on the Ripley’s Believe It or Not site to give you a better idea…