List of sinkholes

The following is a list of sinkholes, blue holes, dolines, crown holes, cenotes, and pit caves. A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. Some are caused by karst processes—for example, the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks[1] or suffosion processes.[2] Sinkholes can vary in size from 1 to 600 m (3 to 2,000 ft) both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms. Sinkholes may form gradually or suddenly, and are found worldwide.[3]

Australia

  • Ewens Ponds – series of three water-filled limestone sinkholes on Eight Mile Creek 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Mount Gambier and 8.4 km (5+14 mi) east of Port MacDonnell, South Australia.
  • Fossil Cave – The cave is a karst sinkhole and is largely filled with water.
  • Kilsby sinkhole – in Mount Gambier, Southern Australia.
  • Koonalda Cave – a cave located in the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia.
  • Little Blue Lake – water-filled doline located near Mount Schank in South Australia.
  • Numby Numby – a sinkhole located 25 to 30 kilometres (16 to 19 mi) west-northwest of Borroloola in the Northern Territory.
  • Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park

Brazil

Canada

China

Croatia

Czech Republic

France

  • Padirac Cave - very deep pit cave in Massif Central, with subterranean river

Germany

Greece

Guatemala

  • 2007 Guatemala City sinkhole – a 100 m (330 ft) deep sinkhole which formed in 2007 due to sewage pipe ruptures.
  • 2010 Guatemala City sinkhole – a disaster in which an area approximately 20 m (65 ft) across and 90 m (300 ft) deep collapsed, swallowing a three-story factory.

Italy

Malaysia

Mexico

Namibia

  • Lake Guinas – a sinkhole lake, created by a collapsing karst cave, located 38 km (23+12 mi) west of Tsumeb
  • Otjikoto Lake – a sinkhole lake that was created by a collapsing karst cave

South Africa

Turkey

United States

Venezuela

Other locations

Notes

  1. ^ Claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lard, L., Paull, C., & Hobson, B. (1995). "Genesis of a submarine sinkhole without subaerial exposure". Geology. 23 (10): 949–951. Bibcode:1995Geo....23..949L. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0949:GOASSW>2.3.CO;2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Caves and karst – dolines and sinkholes". British Geological Survey.
  3. ^ Kohl, Martin (2001). "Subsidence and sinkholes in East Tennessee. A field guide to holes in the ground" (PDF). State of Tennessee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  4. ^ Graves, Russell A. (January 2008). "When the Earth Opens". Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  5. ^ "Chile sinkhole grows large enough to swallow France's Arc de Triomphe". Reuters. 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2022-08-11.