Lago de Tequesquitengo

Lake Tequesquitengo is Morelos' largest body of water, a teardrop-shaped lake about four kilometers long between Jojutla and Puente de Ixtla, southwest of Tlaltizapán. Geologically it fills a sinkhole basin more than 130 meters deep, formed when the roof of huge limestone caverns collapsed. It has no river outlet; it is fed mainly by springs in the lake bed and by ravines that run in the rainy season.

Its story is unusual. A village, San Juan Bautista Tequesquitengo, grew up in the 1600s beside a smaller lake, where people collected tequesquite, a mineral salt. In the 1800s the owners of the nearby Hacienda San José Vista Hermosa began draining leftover irrigation water from their cane fields into the basin, and the lake rose until, by 1865, it had swallowed the whole village up to its church tower. Some accounts say the flooding was deliberate revenge against the villagers. The dome of the old church is still there, marked by a buoy, about six meters below the surface.

Today Tequesquitengo is a weekend getaway for Mexico City and Cuernavaca, lined with vacation homes, small hotels and restaurants. It has long been a center for waterskiing and wakeboarding, and divers come to see the sunken church.