The Worlds Largest Sinkholes

Jun 01 2010

One of The Worlds Largest Sinkholes

Category: Natural disasters,Sinkholes — Mark Lawton @ 11:20 PM

This is amongst one of The Worlds Largest Sinkholes…

Sinkholes? you say eh?…

What exactly are they?…

Well… this is when surface rain, or flood water may wash away certain layers of the earth underground through porous or permeable regions of the rock sub-strata. Also acidic corrosion may take place from acidic rain, and varying PH (acid or alkaline levels) within the sub-stratified layers under the ground beneath us.

Another factor may be variations in weather, as well as local weather extremes, rapid temperature changes, local mining, construction work, and localised flooding, both man-made, and caused by the weather.

Local Mining 100ft Deep Hole In The-Ground

The overlying ground has no support, and eventually after many years, hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, the land above suddenly gives way, leaving a hole in the ground called a “sinkhole”.

You never know where a sinkhole may appear next!

Probably not a “true sinkhole”, but nonetheless caused by underground disturbance.

You Never Know Where A Sinkhole May Appear Sometimes

This can happen in cities, under roads, buildings, in fields, almost anywhere there is land like this. The illustrations below show how…

Click to enlarge them by the way…

Causes of Sinkholes

This second illustration shows it more illustratively…

Schematic sinkhole causes

Here is one from Guatemala, where it is over 350 feet deep, and the statue of liberty can be seen in comparison…

sinkhole Guatemala depth comparison

That is unreal!

Here are two more shots of it showing the scale of it, and how sheer it is.

Unfortunately, there were victims of this, as around two to three people are reported to have been killed by this phenomena.

These can go undetected and unnoticed until the ground suddenly gives way, due to stresses, loading, and vibration. Without doing ground surveys and using modern technology these hidden dangers remain.

Pictures below, click to enlarge. Although it isn’t the largest ever, some proportions do come close, and how shear it is, and it looks hollow inside, maybe opening out more underground…

sinkhole- Guatemala

Another view above…

Now that really shows you how scary this can be!

Now imagine being disturbed in the night by a “rumbling sound”, turning over in bed and saying “it is just one of those things you hear” (and then you ignore it); only to awake the next day with half of your bedroom missing!

It has happened here in the UK; walking bleary-eyed, only to suddenly realise that your bathroom or en-suite bedroom has disappeared “into the nothing”!

What a shock to awake to; or at any time for that matter!

Walsall Mineshaft House Collapse

Not exactly a “sinkhole” as such above, but in Walsall UK quoting from “The Independent” newspaper below, a man in Walsall UK lost his home totally, and escaped with only his life and the clothes that he wore that day…

“Man’s house falls into old mine shaft

John Schetler
Tuesday, 11 May 1999

A pensioner looked on helplessly as his home of more than 50 years collapsed into a 20ft hole. Samuel Hodson, a retired lorry driver, got out of the house just 10 minutes before it disappeared into a disused mine shaft.

He first noticed something was wrong when he woke at 7am on Sunday and heard creaking noises. Large cracks appeared in the bedroom walls of the semi-detached council house in Walsall, West Midlands, where he has lived for 52 years. All day bricks and mortar fell off, until at 4pm the whole structure sank into the ground.

The house was on the site of a mine abandoned in 1850.

Mr Hodson, 64, who was left with nothing more than the clothes he was wearing at the time, said: “I’m absolutely devastated. I’ve lost everything.

“I woke up to what sounded like thunder. Then I realised the noise was the creaking of the house. I began to notice cracks appearing in the walls so I called my son, who rang the emergency council number.”

At 11.30am council workers arrived. They called a technician. “As the day went on it got worse. There was creaking and rumbling all day. Then larger cracks appeared and everybody cleared out of the house.

“Only 10 minutes after leaving the house it collapsed and disappeared.”

His son, Scott, 33, a self-employed builder who lives nearby, said: “I came to have a look and there were cracks everywhere. They didn’t think it was going to collapse, so we didn’t even bother to remove any of my dad’s possessions.

“He was lucky to escape. If the house had given way during the night, he would have sunk with it.”

Next-door-neighbour Sam Tinsley, 66, said: “Sam called me to have a look at the cracks. The pictures on the wall were dipping to one side, his back door would not close and there was general subsidence.”

Three other houses were evacuated. His neighbour Mary Wilcox, 64, said: “You could hear the creaking and rumbling of the house. It sounded like thunder.”

Sharon Whitelaw, 25, said: “I was pottering in the kitchen when all of a sudden I saw the house opposite literally disappear into the ground. I thought it had been struck by an earthquake or something.”

Mr Hodson’s wife, Joan, died three years ago. Scott said his father was most distraught at the loss of his wedding album.

“We’ve told the council where the album is and we hope they’ll be able to recover it.”

Mr Hodson was staying with his sister-in-law while the council tried to rehouse him.”

How about that…

Not really a ”sinkhole”, but nonetheless a breathtaking moment, because it was only due to the turning of events, and random chance ensured that lives were saved and that no-one perished in the depths below!

sinkhole- Guatemala2

It is a terrible thing to happen to people, but intriguing and fascinating anomalies in the earths strata nonetheless. I would not wish it upon my worst enemy.

There are many more in the world, but this has to be one of the modern-day largest around of many in the area.

Here are the whole series of pictures from Guatemala…

guatemala-sinkhole-all-pictures-series

Another illustration below shows nicely how they are formed…

Making-of-a-sinkhole-Poster

This is supposed to be one of the world’s largest sinkholes in Yungang situated in Datong Shi, Shanxi, China…

It’s geographical coordinates are 40° 7′ 24″ North, 113° 4′ 13″ East, in China.

Worlds-largest-sinkholes-Yungang

Now that is scary! It’s a good job it is in a mountainous region of the country that isn’t populated!

Bimmah Sinkhole

: Causes of Sinkholes

: Schematic sinkhole causes

: sinkhole Guatemala depth comparison

: sinkhole- Guatemala2

: sinkhole- Guatemala

: guatemala-sinkhole-all-pictures-series

: Making-of-a-sinkhole-Poster

: Worlds-largest-sinkholes-Yungang

: Local Mining 100ft Deep Hole In The-Ground

: Walsall Mineshaft House Collapse – Not Exactly A Sinkhole But Still Devastating

: You Never Know Where A Sinkhole May Appear Sometimes

: Bimmah Sinkhole

: Texas, US, 2009 The Devil’s Sinkhole, with people gathered to view bats

: Agrico Gypsum Stack Florida Sinkhole – Contaminated Water Supplies Around The Area

: Beijing, China, 2010 Workers inspect a sinkhole

: Berezniki Sinkhole

: Daisetta Sinkhole

: House Collapse Sinkhole

: Jordan, 2008 A sinkhole near the Ein Gedi Spa on the shores of the Dead Sea

: kentucky Sinkhole – And Not A Chicken In Sight!

: La Jolla, US, 2007 A massive sinkhole in the Mount Soledad neighbourhood

: Lighthouse Reef System, Belize, 2000 The Blue Hole is a karst-eroded sinkhole, the result of the repeated collapses of a cave system formed during lower sea level stands

: Macungie Sinkhole

: Mount Gambier Australia Sinkhole

: New York, US, 2006 A Ford Explorer sits nose-first inside a 15ft by 20ft-wide sinkhole in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn

: Oman The Bimah Sinkhole, a limestone crater filled with blue-green water, is a popular visitor attraction near Qurayat

: Orlando, US, 2002 Emergency personnel stand by a giant sinkhole that opened up inside the Woodhill Apartment complex, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate their apartments

: Picher, US, 2008 Years of lead and zinc mining turned the town into a superfund site with sinkholes, lead-laced mountains of rock, and tainted water

: Sinkhole in China

: South Florida Sinkhole

: Taichung, Taiwan, 1999 A man looks at an earthquake-opened sinkhole filled with molasses spilled from nearby storage tanks

: One-of-the-sinkholes-found-in-the-Sikka-l-Bajda-reef-Malta

: 60-foot-deep sinkhole in the US

: Cars lie in a sinkhole in Gallipoli

: Guatemala Sinkhole – Surely They Should Cordon The Danger Area

: Guatemala Sinkhole Close-Up View – Scary

: Los Angeles city workers look over a sinkhole

: Residents view a sinkhole, caused when a road collapsed into an underground cave system, in the southern Italian town of Gallipoli

: San Diego sinkhole

: Santa Monica after a broken water main collapsed a block long part of the street creating the largest sinkhole in recent memory in Los Angeles

: Workmen stand outside a 30 foot deep sinkhole in LA

: Lisbon Portugal Sinkhole

: Orlando, US, 2002 Emergency personnel stand by a giant sinkhole that opened up inside the Woodhill Apartment complex, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate their apartments

: Lighthouse Reef System, Belize, 2000 The Blue Hole is a karst-eroded sinkhole, the result of the repeated collapses of a cave system formed during lower sea level stands

Quoting some more about sinkholes below from the National Oceanography Centre…

One-of-the-sinkholes-found-in-the-Sikka-l-Bajda-reef-Malta

“Two large cave-like circular sinkholes, or ‘dolines’ have been found on a submerged reef off the north-east coast Malta by a research team led by Dr Tim Le Bas of the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, during a habitat mapping survey. The discovery threatens plans by the Maltese government to build an offshore wind farm on the reef.

Operating from the Research Vessel Hercules, the scientists surveyed the reef, known as Sikka l-Bajda, using sonar to measure the depth of the seabed.

“The sinkholes are almost perfectly circular and probably formed during an ice age, when the reef was located above the sea level. Slightly acidic rainwater flowed through cracks, eroding the limestone rock and forming large holes underneath the rock’s surface. Eventually the roofs grew thin and collapsed, leaving the sink holes,” explained Le Bas.

The largest sinkhole is about 240 metres wide and eight metres deep, whereas the smaller one is about 110 metres wide and five metres deep. There may well be other caves that have not yet collapsed along the reef, which has many fractures caused by slippage of coralline limestone along softer underlying clays and sands.

This realisation could scupper plans to build Malta’s first offshore wind farm.

The Maltese government identified Sikka l-Bajda reef as a potentially sturdy platform on which to install wind turbines, other areas around the islands being too deep for today’s technology.

However, further studies are now needed to assess whether the reef is stable enough to withstand the seabed drilling needed.

“The sinkholes may also be home to many rare or sensitive species not found elsewhere on the reef, which also needs to be taken into account of if the wind farm is to go ahead,” said Le Bas.

In addition to Le Bas, the team included geologist Dr Aaron Micallef of the University of Malta along with collaborators from the University of Bath, RPM Nautical Foundation and Highland Geo Solutions.”

More fascinating sinkholes below…

60-foot-deep sinkhole in the US Cars lie in a sinkhole in Gallipoli

Guatemala Sinkhole - Surely They Should Cordon The Danger Area

Guatemala Sinkhole Close-Up View - Scary

Residents view a sinkhole, caused when a road collapsed into an underground cave system, in the southern Italian town of Gallipoli

San Diego sinkhole

Santa Monica after a broken water main collapsed a block long part of the street creating the largest sinkhole in recent memory in Los AngelesWorkmen stand outside a 30 foot deep sinkhole in LA

“A parked bus was the unfortunate “meal” of a sinkhole that opened up in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal, in 2003. In many cities, utility infrastructure such as sewer lines and fiber optic cables are buried in troughs filled with loose material, which can wash away over time. In some cases, a stretch of road can essentially become a concrete bridge over mostly empty space.”