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Uncovering the Secrets of the origins of life

Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila, is designated as a "Magic Town", and one of the 13 Wonders of Mexico. It is also considered one of the most important wetlands in the country (RAMSAR). Due to its biological importance, it was declared a protected natural area on November 7, 1994.

The valley is home to 77 species (23 plants and 54 animals) unique in the world, and more than 250 bodies of crystalline water with conditions similar to those of the late Precambrian Era (when life emerged on planet Earth). It is one of the few places in the world where there are still living stromatolites, microscopic beings that invented photosynthesis 3.5 billion years ago; bubble by bubble, they filled the Earth's atmosphere with oxygen and transformed our planet Earth from a red planet, inhabited only by single-cell organisms, to a blue planet full of life.

The unique geographic isolation of the Cuatro Cienegas valley and the natural conditions that have remained for hundreds of millions of years have caused the evolution and diversification processes of the organisms that inhabit it to occur at different rates than the rest of the planet Earth, resulting in the highest rate of endemism per km.2 on the planet.

Studying this incredible valley located in the Chihuahuan Desert is like opening a window to the past, giving scientists the opportunity to understand how life began and how it evolved to the present day.

To learn more about the wonders of Cuatro Ciénegas,
visit Génesis 4C's Virtual Museum in Google Arts & Culture.
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