| El Zapote | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Hells_Bells-D.png) Hells Bells in El Zapote Cenote | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Mexico_States_blank_map.svg)  | |
| Coordinates | 20°51′28″N 87°07′36″W / 20.85778°N 87.12667°W[1] |
| Depth | 54 metres (177 ft) |
Hells Bells are hollow bell- or cone-shaped structures of carbonate that can reach lengths of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). They are found underwater in El Zapote cenote in Quintana Roo, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula; similar formations exist in other caves. In a certain depth range, such structures cover the entire surface of the cave including submerged tree trunks and other Hells Bells, although they never touch each other.
The Hells Bells are speleothems that appear to have formed through incompletely understood complex interplays between water of the cave, microorganisms living in the cave, and the surface of the Hells Bells. The name refers both to their shape and their environment, and also to a song of the same name.
- ^ Stinnesbeck et al. 2018, p. 210.