About 2 hours outside of Oaxaca City is a location called
Hierve el Agua (translated: The Water Boils), which is a natural wonder of
petrified waterfalls.
The waters come
out of mineral spring near the top of a cliff, bubbling like boiling water,
which gives the site its name.
The water
is cold and as it runs over the edge of the cliff and begins to evaporate in
the desert heat, the limestone and calcium carbonate deposits remain behind
like stalactites. This formation is
estimated to have begun more than 500,000 years ago.
We hiked from the top of the cliffs down to the base of the
waterfall, which is still has a trickle of water continuing its growth. 
After hiking back up, we went for a swim in the pools of mineral water at the top of one of the falls. We marveled at the fantastic mountain views and the very oddly shaped formations of the mineral deposits around those pools.
On the way to and from the site, we saw a series of cave dwellings that were inhabited over 9000 years ago, along with cave drawings on the exterior walls that were visible from the highway.
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