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Sinkholes: what is a sinkhole & where do they occur?

We explain what sinkholes are and why they occur, describes their effects on buildings, and gives building and site inspection advice useful in identifying areas where there is an increased risk of sink holes at properties.

We explain how sinkholes can be spotted, sometimes before a sudden collapse, and what to do if you know or suspect that a sinkhole is developing on or close to your property.

This article series includes a photo catalog of significant sinkholes & soil subsidences around the world. Inspecting a property for signs of sink holes or landslides. Types of sink holes, signs of sink holes, landslides. Causes of sinkholes & some landslides. Sink hole or landslide damage and risks. When to hire a geotechnical engineer for sinkhole, landslide, unstable soils, or soil testing.

Catalog of types of sink holes around the world including California, Canada, Quebec, Estonia, Guatemala, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas,Tennessee, Virginia and other states and provinces and countries. Explanation of causes of sinking buildings from events other than sinkholes.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

What are Sinkholes, How Big Are Sinkholes, & Where do Sinkholes Occur?

Photograph of a sink hole swallowing a house in Florida

In general terms a sinkhole is any sudden subsidence of the earth. In more technical terms, a true "sinkhole" is a subsidence or soil collapse caused by a combination of water eroding supporting soils, rock, or limestone, and an underlying geological structure or material that is particularly vulnerable to dissolving in water.

But consistent with their cause and the underlying soil and geology, the actual cause, and the size and dangers of sinkholes vary widely, from a small subsidence over an abandoned septic tank or swimming pool, to enormous sinkholes that swallow towns.

Here we describe this variety of sinkholes and soil subsidences, their locations, causes, sizes, and impact or dangers.

Synonyms and similar terms for sink holes include: shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline, cenote, moulin, and glacier mill.

Urban or suburban sinkholes due to burst water mains, sewer lines, or storm drains can occur almost anywhere.

Here we focus on other sinkhole types and causes including sinkholes due to geological formations, types of rock (karst formations), or due to human activities such as mining. We also discuss here sinking buildings from causes other than sinkholes.

"Sinkholes" that are not verified by a licensed professional geologist or geotechnical engineer to be a true sinkhole are also described in various publications as subsidence incidents.

Readers should see SINKHOLES - IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS, and also

see FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE

and CESSPOOL SAFETY WARNINGS.

Additional septic system safety warnings are at SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY.

The bare minimum that a property owner needs to know about sinkholes or any other sudden subsidence of soils at a property is that these conditions might be very dangerous.

Someone falling into a sink hole or into a collapsing septic tank could be seriously injured or even die.

If a suspicious hole, subsidence, or depression appears at a property the owner should rope off and prevent access to the area to prevent anyone from falling into the opening, and then should seek prompt assistance from a qualified expert, geotechnical engineer, septic contractor, excavator, or the like.

Stormwater drainage sinkhole in Pennsylvania - PA DCNR

The photograph (above-left) of a sinkhole opening in a residential yard in Pennsylvania is from Kochanov, W.E. and illustrates the child hazard or even adult sinkhole hazard that can be formed by storm water drainage.

Article Series Contents

See "Developing your X-Ray Vision - A Promotion Theory for Forensic Observation of Residential Construction - Levels of Fear, and how to use them to find and report significant, hidden problems, discussed at this titl: ADVANCED INSPECTION METHODS

https://InspectAPedia.com/home_inspection/Building_Inspection_Techniques.php

Also see the FEAR-O-METER: Dan's 3 D's SET REPAIR PRIORITIES a promotion theory to convert risk of hidden defects & hazards into action thresholds, for a discussion of how an accumulation of inspection evidence leads to a rational decision to perform invasive or desctructive inspection measures.

Also see The Nature of Vision - Inspecting Complex Systems - When and Why Inspectors "See" or "Don't See" Things Which are Present - InspectApedia.com/vision/Visual_Perception_Errors.php. Comments and content suggestions are invited.

What are sinkholes and why do they occur?

A sinkhole is a subsidence feature. Subsidence is the downward movement of surface material; it involves little or no horizontal movement.

Subsidence occurs naturally due to the physical and chemical weathering of certain types of bedrock.

Subsidence can also occur as a result of underground mining, excessive pumping of groundwater, or subsurface erosion due to the failure of existing utility lines. All of these examples of subsidence can produce surface features that appear similar, but not all are naturally occurring.

Some are solely the result of human activities. - Kochanov, W.E.

Because the causes of sinkholes vary by geographic area, soil conditions, and human activity, we discuss the character, cause, signs, and repair of sinkholes in different areas of the U.S., Canada, and other countries in this article.

Links at the end of this article and at page bottom continue sinkhole discussion in more detail by geographic area, sink hole type, and other factors. Four types of karst sinkholes are described

at FOUR TYPES OF SINKHOLES.

Smaller Soil Subsidences Also Called "Sinkholes"

When an expert such as a geotechnical engineer uses the term "sinkhole" s/he refers to generally large soil subsidences that we described just above and caused by the events we just described. But in more popular speech among homeowners, attorneys, and contractors, smaller site subsidences may also be referred to as "sinkholes" and may be caused by events such as collapsing soils or smaller sized but still dangerous sinkholes over

Watch out: these smaller collapses are still potentially very dangerous, even fatal, should an adult or child fall into an opening, pit, or subsidence. [3][4]

How big are sinkholes? Most sinkholes are 10 to 12 feet in diameter. Sinkholes hundreds of feet in diameter have occurred in Eastern Canada, Florida, and Texas - big enough to swallow a home. The "December Giant" sinkhole in Montevallo, Alabama was 520 x 125' and 60' deep. The Dasietta Texas sinkhole reached 525' x 600' and a depth of 150', collapsing an era of roughly 1/10 of a square mile within two days of its first appearance. The September 1999 Lake Jackson sinkhole near Tallahassee Florida drained the lake into a 50-foot deep sinkhole.

See Ghost Lakes discussed below.

Sinkholes of enormous size and depth do occur in some locations, such as the 330 foot deep sinkhole in Guatemala City (2010), and the Rissa, Norway 1978 soil collapse covering more than 330,000 square meters.

Sinkhole repairs:

A discussion of foundation repair methods such as driven piers, helical piers, or other structural repair methods may seem in order, but if a sink hole is big enough to swallow a home, the first order of business for areas where those problem soils are found (California sinkholes, Florida sinkholes, Pennsylvania sinkholes over mines, Texas sinkholes, often over salt domes and possibly affected by wastewater disposal back into the ground during oil drilling, others) is to recognize the signs that sinkholes have plagued a neighborhood and/or that a sinkhole is presently developing at a particular home.

Sinkholes have been reported world-wide, including including California, Canada, Quebec, Estonia, Guatemala, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.

Significant to property inspectors, the first signs that a sinkhole was developing in Dasietta Texas was the opening up of cracks in the ground and in the roadway on the morning of the collapse.

Because a sinkhole can develop suddenly and expand rapidly, the sudden appearance of cracks in the earth should be taken as a serious safety hazard at any location, more so in an area where sinkholes are known to occur.

What about cases where a sinkhole collapse may be ongoing or imminent? Recognizing indicators of potential sinkholes can reduce but not eliminate this risk. This limitation should be stated clearly by any home inspector in an area where sinkholes are known to occur or wherever one is suspected.

If a sinkhole is already visible near an inspected property or if signs of a sinkhole are observed this information should be cited by the inspector as a potential safety concern and significant expense requiring immediate professional action.

Sinkholes in Alabama

The Neversink TAG Pit, located in Jackson County, Alabama is a Karst formation or limestone-formation sink hole about 40 feet in diameter at its top and 100 wide at its bottom. feet deep. Details are

at WHAT IS KARST?.

Since 199t the Neversink pit has been owned and operated by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy and Karst Preserves. Contact SCCI.org.

Alabama Sinkhole Research

Hydraulic Fracturing Temblors in Arkansas

See Sinkholes & Temblors in OHIO

Arctic Sinkholes & Methane Gas Explosions

Arctic sinkholes, NOVA episode, Channel 13, cited & discussed at InspectApedia.comScientists at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, have been investigationg large sinkholes developing in the Arctic and accomopanying methane gas releases and explosions.

An apparent effect on the Arctic of global warming has been the release of large amounts of methane previously frozen or "locked" in the permafrost found in that area. These large releases of methane gas contribute to the greenhouse effect of adding methane gas to the atmosphere and thus increase the effects of global warming.

In February, 2022 in the U.S. a NOVA episode on Arctic Sinkholes aired and provided graphic illustration of recent Arctic sinkholes. NOVA episodes can be still be observed via access to PBS and by paid memberships in services such as Channel 13 or through other resources.

Arctic sinkhholes have been studied at least since the 1970s (Ford 1971) but were not linked to global-warming until more recently (Lulu 2005 et als).

See also this ALASKA SINKING HOUSE REPORT

Sinkholes in Belize

The "Blue Hole" seawater sinkhole opened in Belize when seawater began entering a seep forming a very large round subsidence.

Hydraulic Fracturing Temblors in British Columbia

See SINKHOLES & TEMBLORS in OHIO for a New York Times news article citing the occurrece of oil and gas well fracking and disposal well activity traced to local earthquakes or temblors.

Sinkholes in California

"California: Sinkhole under house kills man. A man was killed on Friday when a huge hole opened beneath his house in Alta, and after two days of recovery efforts, workers reached the body on Sunday. The authorities identified the man as Jason Chellew, 32, a schoolteacher.

Mr. Chellew was in his living room about 9:30 p.m. on Friday when the floor opened beneath him, the authorities said. The area in the Sierra Nevada foothills was heavily mined for gold in the late 1800's. A mine collapse could have caused the accident, officials said." (AP) - New York Times Tuesday 4/25/2006 p. A25 National Briefing

Sinkholes in Canada: Unstable Leda Clay & Risk of Sinkholes or Landslides in Quebec & Eastern Ontario, Canada, Norway, & Sweden

Lemieux quick clay or leda clay landslide - Canada NRCUnstable clay soils found in some areas of Quebec and eastern Ontario (also found in Rissa, Norway) can "spontaneously liquefy with little or no provocation", leading to sudden catastrophic sinkhole formation and soil collapse reported the New York Times 13 May 2010).

The Times article reports the tragic death of the Richard Préfontaine family when on May 11, 2010 their home suddenly fell into a mud crater 100 feet deep hole approximately 900 feet by 1700 feet in size. More than 250 such collapses have been identified in this area of Canada.

The Lemieux landslide photo (left) of an earlier unstable clay soil or quick clay landslide is from the Canadian Department of Natural Resources.

The May 2010 Times article explained that because the unstable clay formed in salt water the molecular structure of its particles is unstable (compared with clays formed as layers in fresh water). When an event breaks the molecular bonds between clay particles the clay can spontaneously liquefy.

The same Times article reported another clay liquefication collapse in St. Jean Vianney, Quebec in 1971, when 31 people died and 40 homes were destroyed, and continued that the town of Lemieux, Ontario (east of Ottawa) was relocated in 1991 due to concern for unstable clay soils that two years later collapsed over a 42-acre area.

See SINKHOLES in QUEBE, LEDA CLAY for a detailed article on unstable clay soils in Quebec & Eastern Ontario.

Hydraulic Fracturing Temblors & Sinkholes in England related to underlying chalk formations

See Sinkholes & Temblors in Ohio for a New York Times news article citing the occurrece of oil and gas well fracking and disposal well activity traced to local earthquakes or temblors.

Sinkholes in Estonia - the Witch's Well in Tuhala

Sinkholes occur in many parts of the world, and often from similar underlying geological formations.

The New York Times described the Witch's Well in Tuhala, Estonia as caused by a combination of a large field of porous karst combined with water from fifteen underground rivers, a "maze of caverns", and periodic flooding ground water during periods of heavy rains.

Sinkholes in the Tuhala area include the "Horse's hole" (1978) and the "Mother-in-Law's hole" and the Times also reported that streams appear and disappear "like phantoms." (See Hannu Oittinen's photo in the NY Times article and other photos in our references below.)

Although some local people enjoy the magic of curative waters roiling unbidden to the surface of the Witches Well in Tuhhala when underground witches are fighting, or by other accounts, when the witches are flogging themselves with birch branches in an under-earth sauna, the Witch's well in Tuhala, Estonia is an episodic upsurge well through which nearby river and marsh water is pushed to the surface when rainwater floods the porous karst field below the well.

Because the up-flow of water in this Tuhala well is caused by increased water pressure from high water levels in the nearby underground Tuhala river rather than by pressure from groundwater, the Witches' well is not a true artesian well. Water flows up through the Witches' well at hundreds of liters per minute during these eruptions.

The Witches' well is normally fed by the Kuhala underground river (1.5 km away) through the karst field and through nearby bogs.

On occasion, during years of heavy spring floods and sometimes in other seasons, when the Tuhala river flow is increased by local rains to exceed 5000 liters/second, it causes the Witches' well to send water flowing to the surface.

Water from the Witches' well is muddy brown as it is fed from the Tuhala river through nearby marshes to porous karst below the well.

For thousands of years people living in the area have believed that water from these erupting springs is holy, able to cure blindness, remove freckles, or increase longevity.

(Tuhala, a very old city that includes 500-year old farmhouses, has been occupied for roughly 3,000 years, and includes eleven prehistoric camps or settlements, cult stones, and Estonia's oldest log road (Heinasoo bog).)

The history of water usage in Estonia is given by a citation in ourReferences or Citations .

Characteristic of worldwide growing problems with severe loss of ground water due to pumping-out by water mining companies, this concern faces Tuhala as well, where a nearby quarry may lead to significant drops in ground water that may be more serious for owners than simply the loss of the fun of the Witches' well eruptions.

Sinkholes in Florida

Collpase sinkholes

Source: USGS

Florida has More Sinkholes than any other state among the United States.

They are an obvious feature of Florida's natural karst topography. The Floridian aquifer, a karst formation, covers about 100,000 square miles, and provides drinking water to residents of that state.

A sinkhole in Winter Park Florida opened beneath the city swimming pool in 1981 and formed an enormous subsidence. A second, round and more classical sinkhole opened in Mulberry, Florida.

What the Florida Karst and sinkhole discussion sometimes fails to include is the increase in sinkholes in Florida due to increased development and the pumping of groundwater in that state. A water table that falls (or rises) by significant amounts will cause an increase in the formation of sinkholes.

Florida's sinkholes also include phantom lakes or "ghost lakes" such as Lake Jackson. Quoting the Florida DEP & the Florida Geological Survey - FGS.

On September 16, 1999, much of the central portion of Lake Jackson, a large lake on Tallahassee's northern side, drained down an eight-foot-diameter sinkhole known as Porter Hole. Sinkholes in Lake Jackson open and drain portions of the lake approximately every 25 years.

Following the September 1999 event, the FGS, in cooperation with the Northwest Florida Water Management District, Leon County, and theA picture of Geologists entering Porter Sinkhole in Tallahassee, Florida Florida State University Department of Geological Sciences began investigating this phenomenon.

This investigation will improve our understanding of the connection between Lake Jackson and the Floridan aquifer system, which provides most of the area's drinking water.

... The sink consists of a series of convoluted passages through the limestone, with various conduits intersecting the main sink. The FGS has drilled four vertical core holes to depths from 105 feet to 119 feet below the lakebed. Interpretation and analysis of the cores continues and will be published by the FGS upon completion.

Details about how sinkoles form in Florida are

at SINKHOLES on KARST FORMATIONS where we discuss Florida sink holes, detection, cause, remedy, at length.

Also see GHOST LAKES & SINKHOLES.

Sinkhole Repair Services in Florida

Watch out:  Readers trying to diagnose and deal with sudden soil subsidence or yard collapses should

see SINKHOLES - IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS.

Call your local building department for advice on prompt sinkhole assessment as well as for their advice about which excavation contractors or foundation repair contractors in your immediate area have experience with sinkhole diagnosis and repair.

In some circumstances you may need to contact an engineering firm who have sinkhole expertise, typically listed under civil engineers or geotechnical engineer.

Companies that identify themselves as sinkhole damage repair experts in Floria are listed

at SINKHOLE DAMAGE REPAIRS

Sinkholes in Georgia

Sinkholes have been reported in Georgia including news articles in the Examiner (a freelance writing website) in 2014 describing an event in Atlanta that could have been related to human activity (even a burst water main) though the report attributed it to the presence of a stretch zone in the North American Tectonic plate.

See details at SINKHOLES in GEORGIA.

Sinkholes in Guatemala

Associated Press reported (2 June 2010) that an enormous sinkhole opened suddenly in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The hole, nearly perfectly round, was estimated at 66 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep. (Wikipedia reported that the sinkhole is 200 feet deep.) Other reports assert that heavy tropical rains from the storm Agatha triggered the collapse of this sinkhole.

National Geographic and Wikipedia both report that Guatemala City, the location of the giant sinkhole is also the location of a 2007 sinkhole that was 330 feet deep. Guatemala city is built on soils comprised of volcanic ash that has not solidified into rock.

We wondered if volcanic ash or pumice (Guatemala city is built atop a thick layer of loose pumice) may in periods of flooding (such as 2010 tropical storm Agatha) become unstable in a manner similar to the sudden liquification of high-water-content clay discussed

at SINKHOLES in QUEBEC, LEDA CLAY

But Bonis' explanation (below) seems the most credible to date.

It is apparent and the media report implied that the sudden development of this sinkhole in Guatemala was related to weather conditions, including heavy rains, occurring in the area when tropical storm Agatha reached the Guatemala/Mexico border shortly before.

In other areas (Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico) that tropical storm caused landslides and led to at least 150 deaths in Guatemala alone. But more than sudden rainfall was at work in causing this sinkhole.

The very round shape of that sinkhole indeed suggests that there was a pre-existing condition or geological formation, perhaps related to a history of water drainage in that location. Two Guatemalan sinkhole explanations are provided here:

Wikipedia reported (June 2010) that four volcanoes are visible from the city, two of them active. The nearest and most active is Pacaya, which at times expels a considerable amount of ash.

That source also reports that "Geologist Sam Bonis suggests that the recurring "sinkholes" in Guatemala are, as others have suggested, caused by sewer leaks eroding Guatemala's soft soil rich in volcanic ash. As such Bonis does not consider the features sinkholes proper, instead calling them a "piping feature" of Guatemala's aged sewer system."

Offering a second sink hole explanation that is a bit harder to swallow, Vanity Fair, consulting with David Bercovici and Mark Brandon, both professors of geology and geophysics at Yale University, reported that water collected and ate away at the "bedrock" and added the explanation that water had collected in a depression (presumably and unexplained, the depression itself was perfectly round) for some time, dissolving the underlying rock for some time before the sudden collapse.

Just why a depression under a paved city intersection in Guatemala City developed in the shape of a nearly-perfectly-round water collection point occurred below ground at that single location and at that depth could benefit from added detail.

Nonetheless, the experts' observation that there was a pre-existing water drainage pathway that had been in fact developing for a long time, combined with recent flooding to produce the sudden and deep collapse is helpful in understanding this very round and very deep sinkhole event. One would expect further sudden sinkholes to appear under these conditions.

In sum, the most likely explanation of the Guatemala City sinkholes is the combination of the Bonis explanation, combined with sudden heavy rainfall that leads to the collapse of a previously-undermined area.

Sinkholes in Iceland

At Iceland's Jokulsa river is a 150-foot inverted-funnel-shaped "sinkhole" formed by steam produced by one of Iceland's numerous geothermal vents.

Sinkholes in Kansas

Treece Kansas Sinkholes & Land Subsidence - Lead & Zinc Mines

Treece Kansas - adapted from Google Maps © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com

In 2012 the New York Times Magazine provided an excellent summary of the history of Treece Kansas, including a description of the occurrences of sinkholes and sudden subsidences in Treece traced to lead and zinc mining operations, environmental contamnation issues (primarily lead), and ultimately the shut-down and abandonment of the town.

Mining for lead and zinc began following discovery of those metals by the Pitcher Lead Company (Joplin MO) in 1919, and peaked during World War II.

The mines were exhausted by the 1960's, and by 1981, the U.S. EPA had classified Treece and its surrounding area as "... the most contaminated in the country" [6]

Our satellite image of Treece Kansas (see pointer A), adapted from Google Maps, illustrates the effects of surface mining operations in the area, and our second map (below) provides a closer look at a mining area just southeast of the town.

Treece mining operation (C) D Friedman Google Maps

While the Times Magazine article focuses on environmental issues surrounding Treece Kansas. Here we cite subsidence and sinkholes descrbed in the article.

Following a pattern we describe here for other towns and cities around the world, when mining operations were abandoned, pumps that had been operated to keep water from filling the mining excavations were shut down.

In turn, water entering the mines appears to play a significant role in subsequent appearance of subsidences and sinkholes ranging in size from a modest "sofa sized" to a 300 ft. wide xby 200 foot deep sinkhole that opened in 1966.

A second cause of sudden subsidences and sinkholes in areas of mining operations is the presence of shallow underground mines of any type (zinc, lead, or more often, coal mines) that are covered by soils thin enough that the surface simply collapses into the excavated area.

Shallow mine collapses are common in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

South from Treece Kansas and across the state line in Pitcher, Oklahoma, is one of the world's more famous sinkholes, the Pitcher Oklahoma sinkhole, subsidences also caused by lead and zinc mining operations.

Sinkholes in Kentucky

In March 2014 the New York Times reported on a dramatic and sudden sinkhole collapse at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY: a sinkhole opened in the museum's Skydome area on February 12th of that year.

Security cameras captured the sinkhole collapse and the falling of a number of the museum's Corvettes into a 40-foot deep round crater. Un-daunted museum officials used a crane to recover the cars from the collapse in preparation for sending them for repair and restoration.

Sinkholes are common in Kentucky where portions of the state are underlaid with karst formations.

See details at SINKHOLES on KARST FORMATIONS.

But interesting in the Times article was the report of the supervisor of a construction company supervising the recovery of the automobiles.

According to the Times, whose reporter interviewed G Michael Murphy,

... in the past, in most construction surveying, crews would bore down to bedrock and then stop drilling. But in a karst area, there may be an open space under several feet of solid rock. In this case [the Corvett Museum sinkhole collapse in Bowling Green], there was a void under a bridge layer of bedrock, and when it collapsed, the floor caved in and took the cars with it.

It would seem advisable for construction companies and excavators working in areas of known karst formations and sinkhole collapse risk to be a bit leery of building atop "bedrock" without further geotechnical engineering evaluation of the conditions below in an effort to reduce the chances of a sudden "bridge layer" of "bedrock" collapsing over an open karst formation.

Indeed the Times report continues with an observation that at the Corvette museum the space beneath the 20-year old building will be tested further using a microgravity machine capable of detecting voids below the foundation and floors of the structure.

Kentucky Sinkhole Research

Sinkholes in Puerto Rico

Sinknhole in Terranova, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico in early 2023 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

The Island of Puerto Rico has many natural sinkholes such as the one we photographed just above.

Puerto Rico's largest karst area extends along length the northern coast of the island from its western tip nearly to San Juan, and from the northern coast down about 1/3 of the island's width. (Kambesis 2020)

This sinkhole, observed in early 2023 has opened along the Northwestern coast of Terranova, a barrio located in the municipaliuty of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico over what is the largest coastal Karst fomation along the island.

Below: while sinkholes in Puerto Rico sometimes form tourist attractions, in this instance our bird tour group stood along the fence admiring seabirds, turning their backs on the subsidence just a few meters away.

Sinknhole in Terranova, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico in early 2023 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

[Click to enlarge any image]

Looking at the same Puerto Rico sinkhole from another viewpoint we see that it is quite close to an existing home - something that made the author [DF] a bit nervous.

Sinknhole in Terranova, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico in early 2023 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Puerto Rico Sinkholes Research

Sinkholes in Lisbon, Portugal

In 2003 a sudden sinkhole opened in a Lisbon street, apparently caused by water flow beneath the city surface. A bus fell into this urban sinkhole.

Sinkholes in Lithuania

Sinkholes in Maryland

Where do Sinkholes Occur in Maryland? See details

at SINKHOLES in MARYLAND

Maryland karst location marks where sinkholes are most likely - MGS

Sinkholes in Mexico

Mexico's Ik Kil Cenote (a natural well) is located close to Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Penisula. This and other cenotes were described by Richard Halliburton.

Sinkholes in Minnesota

Details about sinkholes in Minnesota are now found at SINKHOLES in MINNESOTA where we also

discuss SEAWALL SINKHOLES & SUBSIDENCES.

Concrete, wood, & steel seawalls deteroriating in Duluth Minnesota may explain nearby sinkholes and subsidences (C) Daniel Friedman

Sinkholes in Missouri

Missouri sinkhole occurrences - MGS

The chart of sinkhole occurrences in Missouri shown here (chart at left) is reproduced from Foundation Engineering Problems and Hazards in Karst Terranes, James P. Reger, Maryland Geological Survey, web search 06/05/2010, original source: http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/fs/fs11.html

Missouri Sinkhole Research

Sinkholes in New York

See SINKHOLES in NEW YORK for examples of a sudden soil subsidence in New York. Details of this case and our advice on what to do about this sudden yard collapse are provided.

Sinkholes? & Earthquakes in Oklahoma

Hydraulic Fracturing Temblors in Oklahoma

Sinkholes & Temblors in Ohio

In March 2014 the New York Times reported that Ohio officials were investigating the use of fracturing or "fracking" for the development of oil and gas resources in the state may have caused two temblors or earthquakes measuring 2.6 and 2.0 magnitude.

Hydraulic fracking was in process at the time and in the area of the temblors. The Times article noted that

Over the past decade, shale oil and gas production has been linked to earthquakes in Ohio, Arkansas, Oklahoma and other states and in several countries. In most cases, however, the quakes were tied to disposal wells ...

The water [injected into disposal wells] is thought to alter pressures underground and unclamp old faults, allowing them to slip. ... [there have been] ... a few instances - in British Columbia, England and south-central Oklahoma - in which the fracking itself was thought to have induced quakes large enough to be felt. - The New York Times, A20, 3/11/2014

Ohio Sinkhole Research

Sinkholes in Pennsylvania

Location of sinkholes in Pennsylvania - PA DCNR Kochav W.E.

Sudden subsidences and sinkholes in some areas of Pennsylvania have been associated with coal mining activities combined with surface and subsurface water drainage or pumping.

Details are at SINKHOLES in PENNSYLVANIA

What are Ghost Lakes and how do they Relate to Sinkholes?

Ghost lakes form in some areas over limestone that has previously been partially dissolved to leave a network of water-draining passages in rock

. On occasion water passages may become clogged, perhaps with surface soils and debris, leading to lakes that form, then later disappear if the drainage clogs open again.

The September 1999 Lake Jackson sinkhole near Tallahassee Florida drained the lake into a 50-foot deep sinkhole.

Before it was drained by this sinkhole, the lake covered six square miles. The Florida Geological Survey (FGS) indicates that Lake Jackson drains and refills every twenty-five years.

OPINION-DF: As Kochanov explains, acidic rainwater is formed by the interaction of atmospheric moisture with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid.

As global warming is associated with increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), we might expect an increase in the acidity of rainfall that in turn may increase the incidence of sinkholes where carbonate bedrock (limestone) is prevalent.

Causes of Soil Subsidence & Building Movement Not Due to Sinkholes

See the full article on this topic at SINKING BUILDINGS Excerpts are below.

Kochanov, W.E. lists and we elaborate here a variety of subsidences that are not caused by naturally-occurring sinkholes, followed by examples of sinking houses not caused by sinkholes, and examples of cesspool or septic system collapses.

Understanding the cause of a sinkhole assists in knowing what to expect in the future and in planning for building or sink hole repairs. An important key to identifying a sinkhole area is to consider the location of carbonate bedrock.

Watch out: significant building movement may be caused by a variety of problems other than sinkholes. Some of these are equally dangerous, and expert evaluation is important. Consult with a structural engineer who is specifically familiar with building and foundation movement and failures.

Examples of conditions that can raise serious, urgent concerns for safety and risk of sudden, catastrophic building collapse include at least the following:

Watch out:  Immediately rope off the area of any soil subsidence or suspected old septic tank or cesspool area, and mark it plainly as unsafe so that a wandering neighbor, adult or child, does not go near nor fall into this hole. It could be quite dangerous.

See CESSPOOL SAFETY WARNINGS for examples of potentially fatal cesspool collapse hazards.

Sinkholes in Texas

Notes on the Dasietta Texas Sinkhole Reported in May 2008 - the "Sinkhole de Mayo"

The Texas Dasietta Sinkhole which appeared suddenly and apparently with no warning on May 8, 2008 in Dasietta Texas. New York Times reported that after only about two days the Dasietta Texas sinkhole covered an area of 600 x 525 feet, or about 1/10 of a square mile.

At the time of the May 9th report, experts didn't know if the sinkhole had stopped growing, but Carl Norman, a geologist at U. Houston reported in the Times that the sink hole could become stable or it could collapse further in six months, doubling in size.

The salt dome over which the Dasietta Texas sinkhole is located was estimated to be six miles in diameter.

It was posed that while this sinkhole collapse could be due to entirely natural causes, the the practice of disposal of waste saltwater produced by oil drilling operations by pumping the wastewater into the ground might be contributing to or even causing the Dasietta sinkhole by dissolving underground salt. -- Ref: "Sinkhole and Town: Now You See It ...", New York Times, p. A-15, 9 May 2008.

Property inspectors working in Texas in areas of construction over salt domes or where oil drilling may be both extracting oil from and inserting wastewater into the soil need to be particularly vigilant and should caution home owners or home buyers about the risk of sudden sinkhole development.

Texas Sinkhole Research

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

San Antonio sinkhole? we had heavy rain and I noticed air bubbles coming from the ground

I live in an apartment complex and when it rains it always floods in front of my apartment. Today we had heavy rain and I noticed air bubbles coming from the ground. There has been recent sink holes around San Antonio and I'm reaching out in concern for my families saftey.

I have video of the air bubbles which are a steady flow coming up. I've lived here a few years and this is the first I've seen.

If you know or know of any organization that can determine if a sink hole is possible please contact me at 210-919-3897, the apartments I live in are Country Oaks Apartment in San Antonio, TX off of Ackerman rd. My name is Jesus Recio On 2018-05-21 by Jesu Recio S

Reply by (mod) - Sinkholes certainly occur in and around San Antonio TX

Jesu

Sinkholes certainly occur in and around San Antonio TX

Some "sinkholes" that are not true geologically-based sinkholes, such as those caused by a burst or leaking sewer lines or water mains can still be very dangerous.
In December 2016 in a tragic and rare death, a San Antonio sherrif's deputy died when her car fell into a Southside San Antonio sinkhole on Quintara Road.

Watch out: If you suspect a sinkhole in or near your property you should

1. rope off the area from well away and keep everyone away from the area

2. notify San Antonio authorities including your local

Emergency services - dial 311 (210.207.6000 outside city limits)

and/or

San Antonio police department 210.207.7360

Or the San Antonio Department of Emergency Management 210.206.8580

Emergency management is a comprehensive system to respond to emergencies or disasters impacting our community.

Sinkholes in Tennessee

We provide details on Tennessee sinkholes and subsidences

at SINKHOLES in TENNESSEE

Sinkholes in Virginia

Please see SINKHOLES in VIRGINIA

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy reports that sinkholes have been reported in that state since colonial times.

Sinkholes in Berezniki Russia - 24-hour Monitoring

In 2012 the New York Times reported that the city of Berezniki, Russia has a severe and sudden sinkhole problem that defies corrective measures and has prompted the dity to staff a 24-hour sink hole watch, using video monitors of Berezniki areas to observe, report, and issue warnings to the city's residents when a sinkhole begins to appear.[5]

The Times reporter, Andrew E.Kramer, who has reported on sinkholes in Russia before [3], explained that extensive and deep (750 - 1,500 feet) potash (fertilizer) mining operations below Berezniki, a city of 154,000 that began as a labor camp, placed mines within walking distance of the original city center.

The presence of deep mines below the city combined with lack of application of mine construction safety standards, mine supports that depend on pillars of material that is soluble and thus can collapse during flooding, led to trouble when fresh water began flowing into the mine from a spring in 2006.

The "Grandfather", a Berezinski Russia sinkhole that opened 2007 is 340 x 430 yards in size and 780 feet deep. This sinkhole may, according to Kramer, be the largest manmade sinkhole in the world. It required the evacuation of rougly 2000 people. - The New York Times [5]

Daniel Friedman - Florida Suncoast ASHI Educational Seminar - 1 May 2004, updated 2007, 2008, 2014, 2017. Portions of this text are extracted, quoted, or paraphrased from references provided; a key resource author was Sarah Cervone at Reference-1. The text document is InspectAPedia.com /vision/Sinkholes_Subsidences.php - © 2017 - 2004 Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved

Sinkholes and Sudden Land Subsidence References, Products, Consultants

Sink Hole Research, Engineering References


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