Seetee's Blog

The Guatemala sinkhole

The sinkhole in Guatemala  that swallowed a three-story building today. It kind of looks surreal and out of a movie, Men in Black maybe. Just the fact that it’s so deep and so perfectly circular makes it seem in some ways man-made even though it isnt.

Sinkholes are natural depressions that can form when water-saturated soil and other particles become too heavy and cause the roofs of existing voids in the soil to collapse.

Another way sinkholes can form is if water enlarges a natural fracture in a limestone bedrock layer. As the crack gets bigger, the topsoil gently slumps, eventually leaving behind a sinkhole. via National Geographic

There is talk that the sinkhole in Guatemala could get bigger, but it hasn’t been determined yet what mechanism caused it.