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Nature's Will. 400yo church lost to water(1966) re-emerges now as in 2002; unconquered Mont St-Michel cut off by Tide of Century
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2015 - The watershed of the Grijalva river has been hit by a drought this year, causing the water level in the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to decrease by 82 feet. The remains of a 400-year-old church have emerged from the receding waters of a river in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.
Mid-16th century - The church was built by a group of monks led by Friar Bartolome de la Casas, who arrived in the region that was inhabited by the Zoque people in the mid-16th century in the Quechula locality.
1966 - It was originally lost to the waters of the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in 1966 when it flooded. With the walls rising to about 30 feet, the stunning structure is 183 feet long and 42 feet wide. The bell tower reaches 48 feet above the ground of the church. Architect Carlos Navarete, who worked with Mexican authorities on a report about the structure, said: 'The church was abandoned due to the big plagues of 1773-1776.'
2002 - the water was so low in 2002 that visitors could walk inside of the historic structure. Local resident Leonel Mendoza fishes in the reservoir every day and said that people celebrated when it was exposed in 2002. 'They came to eat, to hang out, to do business. I sold them fried fish. They did processions around the church,' Mendoza shared.
With the church being exposed now, Mendoza has been ferrying people out to see the remains of the church.
The world-famous Mont Saint-Michel on France's northern coast was cut off by 'tide of the century' with a difference between high and low tide of 47.6 ft (14.15 metres). Thousands of people have flocked to the coast of Normandy in France to witness Mont Saint-Michel being cut off by exceptionally high tides. The island and its monastery lie more than half a mile offshore, and are connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Saturday's tides had been billed as potentially the "high tides of the century".
One of France's most recognizable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million people visit it each year. Le Mont-Saint-Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. The Mont remained unconquered during the Hundred Years' War (conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the rulers of the Kingdom of England against the rulers of the Kingdom of France); a small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433. The reverse benefits of its natural defence were not lost on Louis XI, who turned the Mont into a prison. Thereafter the abbey began to be used more regularly as a jail during the Ancien Régime.
One of France's most recognizable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million people visit it each year.
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Photo courtesy Mario Vazquez De La Torre / Agence France-Presse, Exploring Chiapas | Instagram, AP, and vilagutazo.blog.hu