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Sink holes?

Sharon McKnight SPHRSharon McKnight SPHR 737 Posts
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What really causes sink holes and why are some so much bigger than others? Is the earth chock full of holes just waiting to sag?
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  • NaeNae55NaeNae55 3,243 Posts
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    According to an article I read a few months ago regarding some sink holes in Texas, there was a huge underground water source (lake) that has been overused. Drain the water and you are left with a huge underground hole that can't sustain holding the ground above it up over the hole. According to the article, underground water supplies being drained is the number one reason for sink holes. Sometimes the sink hole occurs immediately above the underground lake, and sometimes it is a result of things closeby being displaced by the draining of the lake.
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  • Sharon McKnight SPHRSharon McKnight SPHR 737 Posts
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    Interesting. The articles I've read say that too much rain causes some of them.
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  • NaeNae55NaeNae55 3,243 Posts
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    Yes, that is probably true too. I believe the one in news recently was caused by too much rain and a poor sewer system. The pipes leaked too much and the ground washed away. However, the city's man-made water system only goes so deep. Something below it had to have caved in or washed away.
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  • cnghrcnghr 719 Posts
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    I remember there being several sinkholes and washouts when I was visiting San Francisco some years back, during a huge rainstorm, so I think ground that is oversaturated from rain does cause some of them.

    We get a ridiculous amount of rain here, but nothing like that ever happens. The island would probably crumble into little pieces if we ever had a genuine drought, but apparently there's no such thing as "too much rain" in my little part of the world. That's okay, though, because we have a lot of forest around us but it's always so wet that there isn't much danger of forest fires, either.
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  • ACU FrankACU Frank 2,188 Posts
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    A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted a city in Florida that is quickly losing the battle with sinkholes. The culprit appears to be overuse of underground water reserves to irrigate the strawberry fields.
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  • Still Need CoffeeStill Need Coffee 507 Posts
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    So I guess in this case, there really are no "Strawberry Fields Forever...."

    Yes, I know it's a bad joke.

    No, I don't care.

    Happy Friday!

    ::pb&J::
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