The process of formation of sinkholes. The most impressive sinkholes. The most impressive sinkholes of the Earth (16 photos)

sinkhole It is a failure of the soil, reaching a diameter of tens of meters. Underground waters gradually wash away the soil, and, in the end, the thinned top layer does not stand up and goes underground. A karst failure in a crowded area can turn into a real disaster. However, this happens not only in cities, but also in wild nature. And each karst funnel becomes a reminder for us that the Earth is not always favorable to its inhabitants.

Karst sinkhole in Guatemala

This failure was formed in 2007 in the city of Guatemala. A funnel about 100 meters deep captured several houses and claimed the lives of 5 people. As it turned out later, the reason was not natural phenomena, and the breakthrough of sewer pipes: the liquid flowing out of them washed away the ground under the city. According to local experts, this was due to the fact that the pipes had not been repaired for too long. Due to the threat of further subsidence, the authorities evacuated about 1,000 people. The cleanup cost Guatemala $2.7 million.

Another sinkhole in Guatemala

The next karst failure occurred in Guatemala in 2010. About 70 meters deep, the crater carried away a significant part of the city block, killing 15 people. A large number of deaths was due to the fact that a working factory was in the crater zone. This time the authorities attributed the failure to natural causes, however locals are still sure that here and there bursting city pipes are to blame.

Great Blue Hole, Belize

One of the most famous sinkholes in the world is the Great Blue Hole in Belize. This is an underwater failure, which is very fond of divers. blue hole formed at the time ice age. The process of its formation began 150 thousand years ago, when the level of the World Ocean was significantly lower. The width of the failure is about 300 meters, the depth is about 100. The fame of the Great Blue Hole was brought by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who dived into it in the 1970s. Its exploration is still a dangerous business, and diving into the depths of the Great Blue Hole is recommended only for very experienced divers.

Red Lake, Croatia

Red Lake in Croatia is an impressive karst sinkhole 530 meters deep. According to some reports, it was formed on the spot huge cave, whose arches collapsed, washed away by groundwater. In May 2017, a French diver announced that he had managed to dive to the bottom of the lake, which occupies only part of the failure. As it turned out, it is located at a depth of 24 meters.

Swallow Cave, Mexico

Swallow Cave is one of the most famous karst caves in the world. The entrance to it, a 62-meter hole, is on the surface. Through it, cavers on ropes descend to a depth of almost 400 meters. The Swallow Cave is one of the few karst sinkholes that can be studied in detail from the inside, which is why it is especially popular among explorers. And also among BASE jumpers jumping to the bottom on their high-speed parachutes.

Cave of Sotano del Barro, Mexico

The name of this 450-meter-deep cave, located in the Sierra Gorda mountains, in translation does not sound romantic at all - “clay cellar”. It is unique in its location right in the middle of the mountain: it seems that a huge meteorite hit the mountain, forming a failure. In fact, the cave was formed due to the tectonic movement of plates and groundwater approximately 1.5 million years ago.

Crash in Whitner Park, Florida

This sinkhole formed in Winter Park, Florida in 1981, destroying several buildings. Fortunately, the formation of the failure was gradual, and all the inhabitants had time to evacuate before the earth failed. After the disaster, it turned out that back in 1972, experts warned the city authorities that excessive development of the area could lead to a karst failure due to the characteristics of the soil. Then no one took these words into account. Ten years later, the authorities had to pay for deafness with millions of dollars spent on eliminating the consequences of the disaster.

Kingsley Lake, Florida

There are many sinkholes in Florida, but Kingsley Lake is the most famous of them. Locals often call this lake with a diameter of about 3 kilometers the "silver dollar" for the perfectly round shape of the shores. According to legend, the lake got its name from Captain Kingsley, who, fleeing from the Indians, swam from one shore to the other along with his horse. True, there is another, less romantic version, according to which the lake was named after the famous slave trader who lived here.

Harwood Cave, New Zealand

New Zealand's Harwood Cave is considered the deepest vertical cave in the world. The height of its main mouth is 183 meters, and the total depth with side branches is about 357 meters. Underground passages it connects with another famous cave- "Star Light". This is one of the most popular tourist spots in New Zealand. Tourists literally go down the ropes without stopping to admire the cave beauties. The cave was formed in the most traditional way for karst failures - by gradual erosion of the soil by groundwater.

Karst failure in Bereznyaki

The karst sinkhole in Bereznyaki is the result of human activity. The city was built on top of an old mine. Over time, the mine was closed - and a few years later The groundwater the vaults of the mine were washed away and they fell down. This failure exists to this day, the locals affectionately call it "Grandfather". And around him every now and then there are more and more failures, including the one in the photo, located next to the local school. At one time, the issue of resettlement of Bereznyaki was actively discussed, but so far the locals, accustomed to constant failures, live in familiar surroundings.

Gypsum cave in Utah

Hidden in the depths of the Cathedral Valley desert, this cave is relatively small in size: the entrance diameter is 15 meters, the depth is 60 meters. However, it is very loved by tourists, primarily due to the surrounding landscapes. Huge stone monoliths rise around the cave, streaks of solidified lava from ancient volcano that erupted 20 million years ago. It is forbidden to descend into the cave from above, as well as to come close to the edge: the soil around the entrance is unstable and at any moment can collapse underfoot, taking a person to a deadly depth.

underwater lake Vouliagmeni, Greece

This sinkhole at the bottom of the sea is often referred to as the "devil's well". Many divers died here: the internal tunnels inside the underwater pit 32 meters deep are long and winding, and people got lost there more than once, as a result, they were left without oxygen and died. However, the popularity of this underwater cave is growing year by year. Divers constantly come here, hoping that by joint efforts they will be able to complete map"Devil's well", still not fully explored.

Xiaozhai Tianken, China

Xiaozhai Tianken, also known as the "heavenly pit", is considered the deepest karst sinkhole in the world. Its width is 537 meters and its depth is 662 meters. It formed after underground river washed away the walls of a huge cave, and its arch collapsed down. This happened thousands of years ago: the "heavenly pit" was mentioned by historians in antiquity.

Crash on Highway 101 in Oregon

In 2016, a sinkhole up to 10 meters deep formed on Highway 101 in Oregon. Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, according to experts, due to the condition of the soil, it will no longer be possible to repair the road, and the failure will continue to grow. As a result, Oregon Highway 101 was completely closed.

Diner parking lot failure, Mississippi

In 2015, a sinkhole in Mississippi suddenly formed at a pancake shop, causing 12 cars to sink into it in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there were no people in any of them, but one can imagine the state of the car owners who left the cafe after breakfast and found their cars at the bottom of a 10-meter pit! As it turned out, people were to blame for the incident - the owners of the cafe built a parking lot over an old gutter, naively thinking that water would not make its way through the asphalt.

15. Large blue hole part of the Belize barrier reef. Its diameter is 305 meters and its depth is 120 meters. Initially, this formation was a system of caves formed during the Ice Age. When the ocean rose, the roof of the flooded cave collapsed and this sinkhole formed. The explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau included it in the list of the top 10 dive sites in the world. Divers may encounter several interesting views fish, including giant groupers, nurse sharks and several types of reef sharks. During high tides, real whirlpools form in the place of the great blue hole, in which people often die. 14. The Udachnaya pipe is an active diamond deposit in the north of Yakutia, 20 kilometers from the Arctic Circle. Mining began in 1982. This is the largest diamond deposit in Russia in terms of raw materials and ore body size. The Alexander Pushkin diamond weighing 320 carats was mined here, and more recently a stone containing 30,000 diamonds was discovered, which is a million times more than their usual concentration. The depth of the quarry is 640 meters, and the length on the surface is 2 km. 13. The Kola superdeep well is the most deep well in the world. Its depth is 12262 meters, and the temperature at the bottom is 220 degrees. Celsius. The well was laid in 1970 to study the deep structure of the earth. The well served as the source of the urban legend of the "well to hell". Allegedly, on the approach to the 13th kilometer, the instruments recorded a strange noise coming from the bowels of the planet - the yellow newspapers unanimously assured that only the cries of sinners from the underworld could sound like this. In 2008, due to financial difficulties, the well was abandoned and the equipment was dismantled. 12. Deluxe Mystery Hole is a hole in the ground that has become an attraction in Oregon. According to the owner of the hole, this is the most interesting archaeological site in the state. Its depth has not yet been determined by modern scientific methods, but the fact is that it is very deep. Some say it was dug by ancient people, others say aliens. The owner of the hole, Pastor Barron, claims that the hole is already 5,000 years old and if you go down into it even a little, then you will find success in finances and personal life. 11. Devil's Funnel is a huge underground cave 15 meters wide and 106 meters deep, located in the state of Texas. Visitors are not allowed to descend into the cave, but in the summer you can see more than 3 million bats flying out of it at night. 10. In 2010, in Guatemala, right in broad daylight, a three-story garment factory collapsed into the ground along with a nearby residential building. Yes, it didn’t just fail, but disappeared into a huge hole, the bottom of which is visible only from a helicopter. This is not the first sinkhole in Guatemala. In 2007, there was formed similar crater 150 meters deep. Geologists can't explain how the black hole came to be so perfectly shaped, but locals are convinced that the city's dilapidated sewer system was the cause of the failure. 9. Over the past three decades, more than 3 thousand sinkholes have appeared in the dry parts of the ever-shrinking Dead Sea, while in 1990 there were only 40. There are more and more crevices, which means that the Dead Sea continues to die. His coastline shrinking by about a meter per year. In many respects, irrational irrigation in relation to the Jordan River, which feeds the Dead Sea, and the excessive extraction of the resources of the sea itself due to the increase in the population of the countries of the Middle East, are to blame here. The less salt water is in the sea, the easier it is for fresh underground sources to dissolve salt and destroy the usual landscape of the Dead Sea. 8. Diamond mining in the Mir deposit in Yakutia began in 1957. The quarry has a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km. Mining of diamondiferous kimberlite ore by open pit was stopped in June 2001. Since 2009, diamond ore has been mined only at underground mine"World". Its capacity is 1 million tons of ore per year. In 2013, the mine produced over 2 million carats of diamonds. 7. In Siberia, scientists find more and more new giant craters of unknown origin. According to one version, the depressions were formed by explosions of methane accumulated underground, according to another, as a result of the melting of underground glaciers due to the previously established abnormal heat in the region. So far, scientists have discovered seven craters, but in their opinion there are more than 30 craters in total. 6. The Harwood Hole is a cave located in the southern part of New Zealand. On the surface, its diameter is 50 meters, and as it dives, it reaches 183 meters. Total depth The Harwood Hole is 357 meters high. Since its exploration in 1959, the cave has remained the deepest in New Zealand for many years. 5. The Monticello Dam is known for its original spillway design, in the form giant funnel called "Glory Hole". In the middle of Lake Berryessa, a large concrete pipe is installed, into which streams of water flow into a huge hole. From the side it may seem that the water, forming a giant funnel, merges into the very bowels of the earth. It is worth admiring the funnel during the rainy season, since the drain does not occur constantly, but only when the water level in Bariesse rises high enough. Previously, the site of the dam was the city of Monticello, which was flooded and created an artificial lake Berryessa. 4. Dean's Blue Hole is the deepest known blue hole on the planet. Its depth is 202 meters. The hole is located on Long Island in the Bahamas. This karst sinkhole is the training base for the Vertical Blue freediving team led by World Champion William Trubridge. On December 16, 2010, in Dean's Blue Hole, he reached a depth of 101 m, becoming the first person to overcome a depth of 100 m without the use of fins. 3. Bingham Canyon is a mining site in the Western United States, one of the largest quarries in the world, where a giant open pit copper deposit is being mined. Copper ore was first discovered here in 1850, and quarrying began in 1863, which continues to this day. About 1,400 people work at a quarry more than a kilometer deep and 4 km wide, who extract about 450 thousand tons of rock every day. 2. Another blue hole in the Bahamas, Sawmill Sink, is of greater scientific importance than Dean's blue hole. This sinkhole has been an archaeological site that has helped scientists change their perspectives on what the earth was like around 1,000 years ago. Interestingly, this hole was once dry, but gradually began to fill with water. The remains of birds, a giant tortoise and a crocodile that swam here have been preserved. The researchers also found the remains of one of the very first inhabitants of the Bahamas, who is already about 1050 years old. 1. This huge karst sinkhole is called the Heavenly Pit in China. Formed 128 thousand years ago, this funnel is the deepest in the world, its depth is as much as 662 meters. Due to its huge size, it is a favorite place for extreme skydiving. At the bottom of the funnel flows an underground river 8 and a half kilometers long. During the rainy season, you can watch a beautiful view of the waterfall.

sinkhole

Rounded cirque-shaped top of gullies and ravines

Large open drinking vessel used in peasant life

Old Russian wooden vessel for pouring alcohol, displaced by a decanter

Hollow, pit, sinkhole

A small swampy round depression in a flood meadow in the floodplain of the river, overgrown with talok, reeds, kuga and other marsh vegetation

The space between two roof slopes that form a reentrant angle

Antique Russian metal or wooden utensils for pouring wine, beer, mash in the form of a rounded bowl with a wide neck and spout

A traditional large wide rounded vessel with a spout for pouring wine, beer, mash, honey, could be wooden, pewter or copper

steppe saucer

Tinned copper utensils with a toe on the ships of the Russian fleet

Ancient vessel for wine

Boat-shaped vessel for pouring drinks in Rus'

Chara for Ilya Muromets

wine tub

gutter roof

Basin, funnel, ravine

Cup for mash

Vessel for mash

Vessel for mash in Rus'

Chalice under King Peas

Bowl for mash

Vessel for wine at a feast

vintage goblet

Boat-shaped vessel

Old Russian wine vessel

Vessel in the form of a boat

Circus-shaped top of the ravine

Old Russian kitchen vessel

Old Russian glassware for wine

Pit, hollow (obsolete)

Boat for mead

Old Russian low bucket-shaped vessel

Vessel for wine (old)

Old Russian vessel in the form of a boat

Steppe saucer, basin

Cup of good fellows

Vessel at feasts in the old days

Cup under Tsar Pea

Rounded beam top

Vessel in the shape of a duck

Cup in Rus'

Rook for mash

Vessel for wine in Rus'

Variety of brothers

Rounded top of a beam, ravine

Wine scoop (obsolete)

sinkhole

Ancient Russian vessel for wine, beer, honey

Basin, pit, steppe saucer, karst funnel

G. a wide vessel with an ebb or toe, for pouring drinks; copper vessel in the form of cast iron, with a stigma. A small, round bay connected by a strait to a river or lake. Hollow, small rounded and steep-shored lake or pit, failure. Cutting on the roof, drain from two slopes, drainage for drain into a funnel, into a gutter, and the funnel itself, a reservoir. Roof valleys. If the roof is up to the wall, then the drainage system becomes a valley, gable. Suproti valleys (along the valley) and charka. Other from books, other from valley, wine. Endova on the table, and the gate on constipation! enemy field, guest at home: sit under the saints, mend the valley! Endovina penz. rounded expanse, hollow in the mountains. Endovische cf. bonfire sunken glade or meadow, a vast flat depression. Endovochnik m. Psk. eager for beer, mash, booze. YONKA well. thief. one-dvorka, a woman or a girl from one-dvorets; probably from their dialect: en vm. He. Odnodvorets, branno, talagai

Basin, ravine, funnel

Vessel for kvass in the form of a boat

Basin

Rook with braga in the hands of the cupbearer

Keg for beer in Rus'

Funnels invariably attract researchers and tourists. Although the study of the largest of karst formations can be extremely dangerous, people are not repelled by it.

Sinks are one of the most incredible landforms. They are formed due to the movement of the soil in karst, that is, soluble in water, rocks. When groundwater dissolves and leaches rock layers, the earth sags - and a funnel appears. The depth of some does not exceed a meter, others go underground for tens and hundreds of meters.

1. - karst lake, which filled a deep 530-meter funnel in southern Croatia. Formed as a result of the collapse of the arch of a large underground cave. There is a theory that this lake It is connected by underground streams with all other lakes and rivers of its region.

2. The total depth of the funnel is approximately 530 meters, and its volume is approximately 25-30 million cubic meters. Thus, it is one of the largest sinkholes in the world.

3. - a relatively small funnel, about 30 meters deep, but its bottom is filled with crystal clean water. Of course, it immediately turned into a magnet for tourists.

4. The depth of the Bimma well is about 20 meters. Under water there is a tunnel 500 meters long, which connects the sinkhole with the sea and fresh water here it mixes with the sea.

5., which is also called the "Gates of Hell" - a funnel with a diameter of 70 meters and a depth of , located in Turkmenistan. Soviet geologists set fire to a natural gas pit back in 1971, hoping that it would burn out in a couple of days. The flame has not subsided so far.

6. The diameter of the crater is approximately 60 meters, the depth is about 20 meters. Gas comes from underground, splitting into hundreds of burning torches of different sizes. In some torches, flames reach 10-15 meters in height. Clickable:

8. - a funnel in Venezuela about 320 meters deep with almost vertical walls. It is named after the German scientist and traveler Alexander von Humboldt. The forest grows abundantly not only around the funnel, but also inside it.

9. An almost circular sinkhole falls to a depth of 314 meters, and the volume of the funnel is 18 million cubic meters. The upper edge of the failure is 352 meters wide, and at the bottom it reaches 502 meters. Thanks to the vertical walls, a unique ecosystem has developed at the bottom of the funnel, with such species of plants and animals that are not found anywhere else on Earth.

10., she is the Heavenly Pit, the deepest karst funnel in the world - 660 meters deep and 530 wide. One of the most popular places for tourism in China. It is advised to visit during the seasons heavy rains, because then beautiful waterfalls flow inward from the edges of the funnel.

11. For scale: Sky Pit and Boeing 747.

12. - an underwater karst funnel of almost perfect round shape, 120 meters deep and 300 meters in diameter. Discovered by the famous explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who included it in the list of 10 the best places for diving.

13. This geological formation was originally a system of limestone caves formed during the last ice age. The sea level was then much lower, but when the ocean rose and the arch of the flooded cave collapsed, a sinkhole formed.

During high tides, real whirlpools form at the site of the great blue hole, drawing in everything floating on the surface: algae, boards, boats. Often people die in these whirlpools. With the onset of low tide, the hole begins to spew out powerful fountains of water.

Landfalls are really scary. In addition to the dangers that lie in wait for us on the surface of the earth or above it, the earth itself can suddenly slip out from under our feet, swallowing us along with a house or vehicle.

What are sinkholes and how do they form? These are literally holes formed by subsidence of the earth due to a combination of three factors: water, erosion and time. Flowing groundwater percolates through granular soil, rocks, sand in the topsoil, and even through grains of the underlying bedrock.

If the bedrock is made up of something like gypsum, limestone, or dolomite, water can simply erode it, dissolving the loose deposits. In the case of continuous or repeated exposure to water, these rocks can form large holes or even extensive systems caves. High acidity of the water, for example due to absorption of carbon dioxide, can greatly speed up the process.

Water-eroded bedrock splits, eroding deeper layers of sedimentary rock. In addition, it happens that water first destroys the internal bedrock and then, making a hole, rises to the overlying (topmost) layer of the earth. Once the overburden has been eroded from the bedrock area, the continuation of the process depends on the type of soil.

If the overburden is loose sand, bottom particles will be washed away or sink through depressions or cracks in the bedrock. The loose layers above will follow, causing the entire overburden to plummet down to fill the void.

This can happen quickly or slowly depending on the rate of erosion of the bedrock. As a result, a karst funnel can make its way up to them. Such dips are called settling. Much more dramatic are the cases where the overburden consists of clay. Since clay sticks together much more easily than sandy soil, it does not all drain into the hole in the bedrock.

Instead, the flow of water constantly erodes the lower part of the clay layer, forming a large karst void that rises closer and closer to the surface. When the remaining layer can no longer resist gravity, it falls into the abyss below it. If there is a residential building or a salon full of valuable cars on this place, then the owners will have to say goodbye to property, and maybe to life. Such dangerous funnels are called failing.

On video from american state Louisiana, coastal trees are shown falling due to a hole that has formed under the water. Scientists are fairly well aware of which areas are most prone to sinkholes. Based on geological studies, this is characteristic of karst landforms and “vulnerable” rocks (salt and gypsum).

One of the hallmarks of an area where sinkholes are likely to occur is extensive cave systems carved into the bedrock. NASA recently announced that they can use radar data from satellites to track the movement of the ground and detect sinkholes at the preliminary stage.