The Cascadas de Agua Azul (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "Blue Water waterfall") are a series of

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s found on the Xanil River in the southern Mexican state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. They are located in the Municipality of

Tumbalá Tumbalá is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the U ...

, from

Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya language, Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city City-state, state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins dat ...

, near

Mexican Federal Highway 199 Federal Highway 199 (''Carretera Federal 199'') is a List of Mexican Federal Highways, Federal Highway of Mexico located in Chiapas, connecting Mexican Federal Highway 190 at Rancho Nuevo to Catazajá. References

Mexican Federal Highways ...

. These waterfalls consists of many cataracts following one after another, taken from near the top of the sequence of cascades. The larger cataracts may be as high as 6 meters (20 feet) or so. During much of the distance the water descends in two streams, with small islands in the middle. The water has a high content of calcium carbonate and other minerals, and where it falls on rocks or fallen trees, it encases them in a thick shell-like coating of limestone. The area was designated a flora and fauna protection area in 2000 by the Mexican government. The protected area covers 25.8 km². Local residents reportedly restored the waterfalls after the

2017 Chiapas earthquake The 2017 Chiapas earthquake struck at 23:49 CDT on 7 September (local time; 04:49 on the 8th UTC) in the Gulf of Tehuantepec off the southern coast of Mexico near the state of Chiapas, approximately southwest of Pijijiapan (alternately, sou ...

has created a crack and led to a temporary reduction of the water flow over the falls.

Gallery

AguaAzulMexico3.jpg, The series of Agua Azul cascades seen from the top AguaAzulCalcifiedTree.jpg, Trees in different stages of calcification Vista del río Xanil en Agua Azul.jpg, Xanil River basin AguaAzul.jpg

References

External links

Landforms of Chiapas Waterfalls of Mexico Tourism in Mexico Tourist attractions in Chiapas Tiered waterfalls Flora and fauna protection areas of Mexico Protected areas of Chiapas Karst formations of Mexico Petén–Veracruz moist forests Chiapas Highlands {{Chiapas-geo-stub