10 LARGEST HOLES SWALLOWING THE EARTH
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What could possibly go wrong when mining activities disturb the geological order of the ground beneath us?
Massive holes swallowing the earth!
These gaping holes are opening up anywhere from remote deserts to populated mining towns, and some nasty ones open up right in the middle of our streets.
But it’s not just human activity triggering these sinkholes. Some of the holes swallowing the earth are just an act-of-God.
The earth is constantly taking new shapes and sinkholes are leading the way.
But whether they are man-made or natural sinkholes, we are yet to see the last of these massive holes swallowing the earth.
#10. Heavenly Pit, China
Be-hole-d!
This gaping sinkhole in China is considered to be the world’s largest sinkhole yet it was not discovered until 1994 despite its vast width and depths.
It is a massive 626-meter hole nobody could ever miss. At its deepest point, the hole measures 662 meters from the highest point. And, the resulting cave formed is estimated to occupy an enormous 6.7-million cubic meters.
As if that wasn’t tremendous enough, the sinkhole has fascinated many experts and explorers due to its complex series of caves formed below the opening going deep. Its cavernous system makes it look like a series of sinkholes within a massive hole, leading many people to wonder how the sinkhole was created in the first place.
Geological experts point out that the formation of the Heavenly Pit, like many similar natural caves, is not a single incident of the ground collapsing. Rather, it is a gradual process that could take as long as 2 million years.
The Heavenly Pit is believed to have been carved out by a powerful underground river for millions of years. Something which makes many people to then wonder just how is it that the massive sinkhole was only discovered 25 years ago!
#9. Door to Hell, Turkmenistan
This hellish pit in a desert in central Turkmenistan has been on fire for more than 4 decades.
Locals aptly nicknamed the fiery pit “door to hell” and they fear that its ominous burning flames could create a domino-effect that could result in more burning craters opening up in the gas-rich region.
The hole which is about 70 meters wide and 20 meters deep opened up in 1971 – a time when the republic was still part of the Soviet Union. It is said to have been caused by the collapse of an oil well operated by Soviet geologists who accidentally drilled into a cavernous pocket of natural gas.
Not long after the site collapsed, a number of craters began to open up in the region because the sedimentary rock of the desert was already crumbly and the areas with natural gas pockets couldn’t support the ground anymore.
While no one was injured when the sinkholes were swallowing the earth in the Karakum desert, the natural gas which had now found an outlet into the atmosphere would prove disastrous. And so, scientists decided to ignite the crater, hoping to burn away all the dangerous natural gas.
Little did they know, they had started a bonfire in the desert that would burn for close to 50 years now.
#8. Gaping Siberian Holes
These spectacular holes emerging in northern Siberia look like they were created by aliens, perhaps a meteorite, or possibly some powerful explosive. The mysterious holes were discovered in the summer of 2014 and raised questions as to how they came to be formed.
The biggest crater near Bovanenkovo gas field appeared to be surrounded by a pile of loose dirt leading people from nearby villages to speculate that a government-backed corporation was conducting secret tests for a new tunnel-boring machine. But most other people feared it was the end of the world!
Luckily, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were able to finally figure out how these enormous holes were formed.
Their findings were not all good news.
They discovered that the thawing of permafrost triggered by global warming was responsible for the massive sinkholes forming around the Yamal peninsula of Siberia.
The Arctic and much of Siberia was warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world, causing permafrost to thaw and subsequently deforming the landscape of the region in epic proportions.
#7. Dead Sea Sinkholes, Israel
There have been an increase in the number of sinkholes opening up along the shores of the dead sea over the last few decades, making the desert edge look more like the surface of the moon.
Experts cite lowering water levels due to the damming of the Jordan River as a likely cause for the thousands of small sinkholes in the area.
10 Largest Holes On Earth
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