The center of
the Yucatán crater at latitude 21º30' N, longitude 89º50'
W lies at the village of Chicxulub, near Progreso on the Caribbean coast.
Determining the size and outer perimeters of the crater have been much aided
by the clustering of secondary, erosional features including cenotes or sinkholes
(Maya dz'onot), many providing water sources at Maya sites shown on
the map.
The Yucatán peninsula is a low-lying limestone platform which rose out of shallow seas during the Pleistocene, 2 million years ago and later. The 65 million year old crater site is buried under Quaternary (Pleistocene and Holocene) carbonate sediments from 0.6 to 1.0 km thick, lying over Tertiary sandstones and volcanic rocks which, in turn, immediately overlie the impact site at the Cretaceous- Tertiary boundary. The northern half of the now-buried crater today lies in shallow waters of the Sea of Campeche.
[Fig.1: Location of Chicxulub crater in northern Yucatán, and major archaeological sites (Athena Review).]
.
Athena Review Image Archive™ | Guide to Archaeology on the Internet | free trial issue | subscribe | back issues
Main
index of Athena Review |
Subject Index
| Travel
Pages |
Galleries and
Museums |
Copyright © 1996-2006 Athena Publications, Inc. (All Rights Reserved).