Posted on 03/09/2015 2:31:54 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The eastern coastline of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, a mecca for tourists, may have been walloped by a tsunami between 1,500 and 900 years ago, says a new study involving Mexico’s Centro Ecological Akumal (CEA) and the University of Colorado Boulder.
There are several lines of evidence for an ancient tsunami, foremost a large, wedge-shaped berm about 15 feet above sea level paved with washing machine-sized stones, said the researchers. Set back in places more than a quarter of a mile from shore, the berm stretches for at least 30 miles, alternating between rocky headlands and crescent beaches as it tracks the outline of the Caribbean coast near the plush resorts of Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
Radiocarbon dates of peat beneath the extensive berm indicate a tsunami, which may have consisted of two or even three giant waves, likely slammed the coastline sometime after A.D. 450. In addition, ruins of Post-Classic Mayan structures built between A.D. 900 and 1200 were found atop parts of the berm, indicating the tsunami occurred prior to that time.
(Excerpt) Read more at colorado.edu ...
“The force required to rip this reef material from the seafloor and deposit it that far above the shoreline had to have been tremendous,” said CU-Boulder scientist Larry Benson. “We think the tsunami wave height was at least 15 feet and potentially much higher than that.” -- Illustration by Samantha Davies, University of Colorado
I'd avoid the place. Never know when the next disaster will hit.
Wow, the eruption on Thera must have been a LOT bigger and a lot later than is supposed! /s
;’) The place is jinxed!
Do NOT drink the agua
Travel is quite broadening, culturally speaking, not to mention the opportunity to study diverse legal systems, and to discover health care options.
Tsunami? Gosh, surprised they managed to miss it.
Count your blessings, they might have gone to Chicago.
Bush’s fault.
Been there, tsunami’s name is Perla. What a ride.
Which is why the wife and I only travel to Nevada on our vacations. That is about diverse as we can handle.
Our government will bring the Mexicans to you!
(At your expense, of course.)
That's a big enough event to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Could a tsunami have been caused by a major earth slide in the Azores or Canaries?
And?
Maybe, but, wouldn't there be evidence of that in Florida?
I'd choose an asteroid impact first.
The last major volcanic flank collapse there was 550,000 years ago. Any tsunami on the east coast of Yucatan would most likely be caused by an earthquake in the Caribbean basin.
My recollection of the geology of the Caribbean Basin and its fault lines is that it is complex. I’d look for an earthquake cause rather than hurricane. The observation is quite right there have been countless hurricanes in the centuries since this deposit.
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