Devil's Bath Cenote EarthCache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(large)
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A cenote is a sinkhole with exposed rocky edges that also contains
groundwater. Devil's Bath is the only cenote in Canada, and
it connects to the Benson River Cave via an underwater tunnel.
Devil's Bath is found in the Quatsino Formation limestone deposits,
which contains almost 1000-plus karst formations and cave systems.
Karst formations occur by the dissolution of a layer or layers of
soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or
dolomite.
To log this earthcache, you are going to have to e-mail me the
answers to the following questions and post the optional photo(s).
Information for the questions can be found on the cache page, and
at the Earth Cache location.
1) What is the approximate width of Devil's Bath and distance from
the ground surface to the water?
2) What type of rock would the walls of Devil's Bath most likely
consist of? (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic)
3) Do you notice any rock overhangs around the circumference of the
sinkhole?
4) Why do you think Devil's Bath is full of water, and not dry like
some sinkholes can be?
5) What type of cenote do you think Devil's Bath is? (see cache
page for information)
6) Also, you can take a photo of yourself with Devils Bath in the
background and submit it when you log the Earth Cache if you want
to share your adventure with others.
Bonus Question: Using your values from question 1, calculate the
approximate volume of rock that would have been dissolved to make
Devil's Bath.
Cenote
Cenotes are surface connections to subterranean water bodies.
Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain
water infiltrating slowly through the ground, and therefore
contains very little suspended particulate matter. In many cases,
cenotes are areas where sections of cave roof have collapsed
revealing an underlying cave system.
Cenotes are formed by the dissolution of rock, and the resulting
subsurface void results in the collapse of the rock ceiling above
the void. The rock that falls into the water below will eventually
also be slowly dissolved, which makes space for more rock to
collapse into the void. Cenotes may be fully collapsed creating an
open water pool, or only partially collapsed with a rock overhang
above the water.
Types of Cenotes
A simple classification system for cenotes exists:
Jug, or Pit cenotes are those with a surface connection narrower
than the diameter of the water body.
Cylinder cenotes are those with strictly vertical walls.
Basin cenotes are those with shallow water basins.
Cave cenotes are those having a horizontal entrance with dry
sections.
Information Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote
http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/sit_pages/11425.html
http://www.stormchaser.ca/Caves/BC_Caving/Vancouver_Island_Caves_2007.html
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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