Macal Chasm, Vaca Plateau, Cavo District, Belize
Reference
Webster, J.W., Brook, G.A., Railsback, L.B., Cheng, H., Edwards, R.L., Alexander, C. and Reeder, P.P. 2007. Stalagmite evidence from Belize indicating significant droughts at the time of Preclassic Abandonment, the Maya Hiatus, and the Classic Maya collapse. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 250: 1-17.
Reference
Webster, J.W., Brook, G.A., Railsback, L.B., Cheng, H., Edwards, R.L., Alexander, C. and Reeder, P.P. 2007. Stalagmite evidence from Belize indicating significant droughts at the time of Preclassic Abandonment, the Maya Hiatus, and the Classic Maya collapse. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 250: 1-17.
Description
An active stalagmite was removed from the entrance chamber of Macal Chasm -- a cave in Belize near the border with Guatemala (~17.1°N, 89°W) -- from which the authors obtained "reliably dated reflectance, color, luminescence, and C and O stable isotope records for the period from 1225 BC to the present." This work revealed, in their words, that "the interval in our record from AD 750 to 1150 was the most prolonged dry phase in our 3300-year record."