Which peninsula contains Mexico’s Chicxulub crater, linked to the dinosaur extinction?

The Yucatán Peninsula contains Mexico’s Chicxulub crater, linked to the dinosaur extinction.

The peninsula projects northeast from Central America and separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea. It is shared mainly by the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, with northern Belize and Guatemala occupying parts of the broader geographic region.

Chicxulub crater lies partly onshore and partly beneath the Gulf of Mexico near the town of Chicxulub Puerto. Scientists estimate that an asteroid about 10–15 kilometers wide struck there approximately 66 million years ago. The impact is associated with the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction, which eliminated all non-avian dinosaurs.

The peninsula is largely made of porous limestone. Because surface rivers are scarce, rainwater commonly drains underground, forming cenotes. These water-filled sinkholes were important to ancient Maya communities and remain a major feature of the region’s landscape and tourism.