Ever heard of this? A sinkhole, or a sink? shake hole? swallow hole? swallet? doline? or cenote? well, here's the top 9 famous deepest sinkholes in the world for you, it is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone. Sinkholes may vary in size from 1 to 600 meters (3.3 to 2,000 ft) both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms.
Nature never stops to amaze us with its magnificent phenomenon just like these inexplicable holes in the ground. I bet that these holes make an excellent tourist attraction. Check out these unreal photographs and location descriptions of 9 of world's most famous pits and sinkholes. (Courtesy of National Geographic)
Lisbon, Portugal, Sinkhole
A parked bus was the unfortunate "meal" of a sinkhole that opened up in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal, in 2003. Anything that increases the flow of water into subsurface soil can speed up the formation of sinkholes, Missouri States Gouzie said. In many cities, utility infrastructure such as sewer lines and fiber optic cables are buried in troughs filled with loose material, which can wash away over time. In some cases, a stretch of road can essentially become a concrete bridge over mostly empty space.
It's eventually not enough to hold the weight of the next truck over it, Gouzie said.
Ik-Kil Cenote, Mexico
Swimmers float in the saphirre waters of the Ik-Kil cenote, near the Maya site of Chichén Itzá in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Cenote means natural well in French. Sinkholes occurring at sea level will fill up as high as the water table, generating the famous clear blue pools, used by the Maya royalty for both relaxation and ritual sacrifices.
Mulberry, Florida, Sinkhole
This 185-foot-deep (56-meter-deep) sinkhole appeared in 1994 in Mulberry, Florida (map), in a pile of waste material dumped by mining company IMC-Agrico. The company was mining rock to extract phosphate, a main ingredient in fertilizers as well as a chemical used to produce phosphoric acid, added to enhance the taste of soda and various food items. After phosphate was extracted from the rocks, the gypsum-based waste product was dumped as a slurry. As layer after layer of the stuff dried, it formed cracks, like those that appear in dried mud. Water later made its way through the cracks and carried away subsurface material, setting the stage for a sinkhole.
Blue Hole, Belize
Sinkholes can happen anywhere water can erode a vertical channel that connects to a horizontal drain, a situation that allows a column of solid material to wash away, Missouri State's Gouzie explained. If the sinkhole is near the sea or in the sea, as with the famous Blue Hole in Lighthouse Reef off the coast of Belize seawater can quickly seep in after a collapse, forming a deep pool.