The demand for water in Mexico's capital is draining its underground aquifers - and fueling some of the fastest subsidence rates in the worldMEXICO CITY - On a recent morning, visitors wandered around Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral, Latin America's oldest - and one of its largest. Walking from chamber to chamber, tourists snapped images of dramatic ceiling-high altars, soaring columns and sculptures. "I do feel the slope now," a visitor said to a friend, walking from a side chamber to the main entry hall. This sinking, which is known as land subsidence, crops up across the world. While it can be subtle in many places - it pushes land down around an inch or two a year in much of the United States - the rates in Mexico City are some of the highest in the world.

Source: Washington Post June 10, 2024 11:31 UTC