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A sinkhole is a special type of hole in the ground. You can’t dig a hole and call it a sinkhole. Sinkholes simply happen—sometimes very quickly. One moment the ground looks fine. Seconds later, the soil begins to crack. Eventually a pit opens up where the ground used to be. Sinkholes come in many shapes and sizes. They can be broad and shallow or deep and narrow. They can be jagged cracks in the ground or smooth-walled cylinders that look suspiciously like concrete pipes. When a sinkhole happens suddenly, it’s a natural disaster. It destroys its surroundings. But when the sinkhole stops growing, it becomes a permanent part of the landscape, a new and interesting environment to explore. A sinkhole may open up an entrance to a cave or uncover a new source of fresh water. It may fill with water to become a permanent lake or pond. New sinkholes appear every day. But most of the earth’s sinkholes have been around for hundreds, thousands, even millions of years. They provide a special home for unusual plant and animal communities—and a special link between the earth’s surface and our groundwater resources. |