A hat and boots belonging to a volunteer with the Israeli Antique Authority are seen inside the Cave of the Skulls, an excavation site in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea, Israel June 1, 2016. A team of volunteers and archaeologists are searching for remains of The Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the oldest known Hebrew texts, in a national bid, initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), to prevent the robbery of such important artefacts and once found to hand them over to the state for preservation. (Photo by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Ice swimmer Klaudia prepares to swim in a filled up water kettle in an ice cave inside the Nature Ice Palace, with a hight of 3,250 meters (10,663 feet) above sea level, at Hintertux Glacier near Hintertux, some 480 kilometers (298 miles) western of Vienna, Austria, 28 July 2018. (Photo by Christian Bruna/EPA/EFE)

A cenote is a natural phenomenon, a sinkhole in the Earth’s surface. The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico has an estimated 7,000 cenotes because it is primarily made up of porous limestone. For millions of years, rainfall slowly ate away at the limestone and a huge system of underground caves and caverns was formed. Many filled with water from rain or from the underground water table. When the roof of a water filled cave collapses, a cenote is born. The water found in a cenote may be fresh water, salt water, or both. Structurally it may be completely open, like a lake, almost completely closed with just a small opening at the top, or somewhere in between.

Asia Sawicka as Anastasia IV poses for a photograph prior to a rehearsal of the Circus of Horrors' latest show Voodoo, ahead of Halloween, at the Wookey Hole Caves Theatre near Wells on October 19, 2017 in Somerset, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

National Geographic has created “Air, Land & Sea: the 50 greatest wildlife photographs” exhibition. Here: CT4 Crocodile cave on the Salamat river. Set up with Nathan Williamson last chip rain came while we were with the nomads. (Photo by Michael Nichols/National Geographic)

A pilgrim prays at Mount Al-Noor, where Muslims believe Prophet Mohammad received the first words of the Koran through Gabriel in the Hera cave, ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia September 7, 2016. (Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)

Francisca Gomez stands at an entrance to her home, a cave where she has been living for the past 50 years, in the mountains on the outskirts of Chusmuy, Honduras April 21, 2015. The 75-year old widow receives help from neighbors and friends and she makes a little money by selling wood she collects, according to a local newspaper. (Photo by Jorge Cabrera/Reuters)

Fireplace for children, Trondheim, Norway, by Haugen/Zohar. The children of Trondheim come to sit around the fire and tell stories in this whimsical cone hut, made with materials recycled from a construction site. (Photo by Jason Havneraas/The Guardian)