Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone,
carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by
ground water circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces
and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually
stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big. If
there is not enough support for the land above the spaces then
a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be
small, as this picture shows, or they can be huge and can
occur where a house or road is on top.The most damage from sinkholes tends to occur in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. The picture to the left shows a sinkhole that quickly opened up in Florida, apparently eating a swimming pool, some roadway, and buildings.
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Ground-water quality
Land subsidence
Earth's water
Water Science home page
USGS Water ResourcesThe URL for this page is http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwsinkholes.html Comments? Contact Howard Perlman Last Modified: Mar 05, 2004 |
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