400-year-old church emerges from the waters in Mexico

Due to an intense heat wave and drought that has spread in various parts of Mexico, a more than 400-year-old Catholic church has completely emerged from the waters in the state of Chiapas.

The church of the disappeared town of San Juan Quechula, dedicated to the apostle James the Greater and built by Dominican friars who evangelized the region headed by friar Bartolomé de las Casas in the 16th century, was flooded in 1966 with the construction of the Nezahualcóyotl hydroelectric dam, also known as the Malpaso Dam.

In recent years, the upper part of the church had remained visible and tourists could approach it using boats.However, this year’s drought has allowed the centuries-old Catholic church to be visible in its entirety.

This is one of at least seven churches that are buried under water or stone in different regions of Mexico.