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A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water. Sinkholes may vary in size from less than a meter to several hundred meters both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms. They may be formed gradually or suddenly, and are found worldwide.

Mechanisms of formation may include the gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table. Occasionally a sinkhole may exhibit a visible opening into a cave below. In the case of exceptionally large sinkholes, such as Cedar Sink at Mammoth Cave National Park, USA, a stream or river may be visible across its bottom flowing from one side to the other.

Sinkholes may capture surface drainage for running or standing water, but may also form in currently high and dry locations. The state of Florida in the USA is known for having frequent sinkholes, especially in the central part of the state. The Murge area in southern Italy also has numerous sinkholes. Sinkholes can be formed in retention ponds from large amounts of rain.

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A special type of sinkhole - formed by rainwater leaking through the pavement and carrying dirt into a ruptured sewer pipe.
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Sinkholes near the Dead Sea, formed by dissolution of underground salt by incoming freshwater, as a result of a continuing sea level drop.
Sinkholes are usually but not always linked with karst landscapes. In such regions, there may be hundreds or even thousands of sinkholes in a small area so that the surface as seen from the air looks pock-marked, and there are no surface streams because all drainage occurs sub-surface.

Sinkholes have been used for centuries as disposal sites for various forms of waste. A consequence of this is the pollution of groundwater resources, with serious health implications in such areas.

Sinkholes also form from human activity, such as the rare but still occasional collapse of abandoned mines in places like West Virginia, USA. More commonly, sinkholes occur in urban areas due to water main breaks or sewer collapses when old pipes give way. They can also occur from the overpumping and extraction of groundwater and subsurface fluids.

When sinkholes are very deep or connected to caves, they may offer challenges for experienced cavers or, when water-filled, divers. Some of the most spectacular are the Zacatón cenote in Mexico, the Boesmansgat sinkhole in South Africa, Sarisariñama tepuy in Venezuela, and in the town of Mount Gambier, South Australia.

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A cenote (pronounced in Mexican Spanish [seˈnoˌte] and in English [səˈnəʊˌteɪ], plural: cenotes; from Yucatec Maya
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SOiL is a five-piece Hard Rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. They formed in 1997 and are still active. They are signed to DRT Entertainment and have released four albums, their most recent being True Self which was released in March 27 2006.
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate: CaCO3). Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or flint, as well as varying amounts of clay, silt and sand as disseminations, nodules, or layers
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subsidence is the motion of a surface (usually, the Earth's surface) as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation.
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cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term 'cave' should only apply to cavities that have some part which does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock
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water table or phreatic surface is the surface where the water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure.

A sustainable amount of water within a unit of sediment or rock, below the water table, in the phreatic zone is called an aquifer.
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Location Kentucky, USA
Nearest city Cave City
Coordinates
Area 52,835 acres (214 km²)
Established July 1, 1941
Total visitation 597,934 (in 2006)
Governing body National Park Service
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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worldwide view.

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Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.
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Murgia (plural: Murge) is a sub-region of Apulia (Puglia) in southern Italy, corresponding to a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape, occupying the central area of the region. The name stems from the Latin murex, meaning "sharp stone".
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Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainages, and in some examples there may be little or no
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Waste, rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk is unwanted or undesired material. "Waste" is the general term; though the other terms are used loosely as synonyms, they have more specific meanings: rubbish or trash are mixed household waste and including paper
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Pollution is the introduction of pollutants (whether chemical substances, or energy such as noise, heat, or light) into the environment to such a point that its effects become harmful to human health, other living organisms, or the environment.
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Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.
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In 1948, in its constitution, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" [1].
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Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam.
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State of West Virginia

Flag of West Virginia Seal
Nickname(s): Mountain State
Motto(s): Montani semper liberi

Official language(s) English

Capital Charleston
Largest city
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An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. This term is at one end of the spectrum of suburban and rural areas. An urban area is more frequently called a city or town.
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water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components, including:
  1. the watershed or geographic area that collects the water, see water purification - sources of drinking water;

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For the art of stitching, see .


A sewer is an artificial conduit (or pipe) or system of conduits used to remove sewage (human liquid waste) and to provide drainage.
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Pipeline transport is a transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquid and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air have also been used.
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Caving is the recreational sport of exploring caves. Speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.[1]

The challenges of the sport depend on the cave being visited, but often include the negotiation of pitches, squeezes, and water
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Cave diving is a type of technical diving in which specialized SCUBA equipment is used to enable the exploration of natural or artificial caves which are at least partially filled with water.
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Zacatón is one of a group of five interconnected sinkholes, or cenotes, located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is the deepest sinkhole in the world with a total depth of 335 meters.
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Boesmansgat, also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is believed to be the third-deepest submerged freshwater cave (or sinkhole) in the world, approximately 270 metres deep. It is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
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The Sarisariñama tepui is a mountain in the Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park at the far south-west of Bolívar State, Venezuela, near the border with Brazil. Height: 2,300 metres.
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Tepuis are table-top mountains (mesas) found only in the Guiana highlands, especially in Venezuela. These geological formations tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in mountain range fashion, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal
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Mount Gambier
South Australia

Location of Mount Gambier in South Australia (red).

Population:
• Density: 24,535 (2006 census)[1]
881.
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