Landscape Winner: Hidden Beauty
Hidden Beauty by Tom St George
Hiding in this underwater cave, or cenote, in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, are a bevy of fish and zooplankton species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. These animals are uniquely adapted to the conditions within the cave systems where they live.
Humans, too, rely on the cenotes. The only reliable fresh water source for people on the peninsula is groundwater, much of which is stored in cenotes. This water source is vulnerable to contamination from pollution aboveground and development.
From bioGraphic:
A local indigenous group, Kana’an Ts’onot, which translates to Guardians of the Cenotes, is now fighting for the Yucatán’s underground rivers system to be recognized by the Mexican authorities as an entity with legal rights—a step they hope will lead to stricter policies regulating development, pollution, and wastewater treatment. St George, who took this photo
to both highlight the incredible natural beauty of Mexico’s underwater cave systems and draw attention to the threats they face, is pulling for them to succeed.
