This sort of sinkhole develops over a long period of time. When there is not a significant amount of soil or plant covering the limestone or bedrock, a phenomenon known as dissolution or solution sinkholes may occur. As the water gently travels over the bedrock, it wears away at the rock. This creates a depression, which, depending on the amount of silt that is piled up around it, might become a pond. After this, surface water seeps into the cracks in the limestone, where it slowly dissolves the rock and creates a sinkhole.
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What Are Sinkholes?
Sinkholes are depressions or holes in the ground that happens when the top layer of soil collapses. They can be found all over the United States. Sinkholes are made by natural erosion or the slow removal of slightly soluble bedrock (like limestone) by water percolation, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lower water table. Sinkholes can also happen when groundwater breaks down the carbonate cement that holds sandstone particles together. The loose particles are then carried away, leaving a void behind.
Most collapses in cities happen when old pipes break and cause water main breaks or sewer collapses. They can also be caused by too much pumping and taking out of groundwater and fluids from the ground.
Different Types of and Causes of Sinkholes
Dissolution or Solution Sinkholes
Subsidence Sinkholes
This sort of sinkhole develops when rainfall percolates through sediment to reach limestone, at which point it dissolves the limestone and causes it to become weakened. These sinkholes are generated naturally over time as a result of erosion, which causes microscopic fissures in the limestone to become larger and wider over time. Depression occurs at the surface of the earth, which is caused by the sediment from the higher layers of the soil filling up the fissures.
Cover Collapse Sinkholes
These sinkholes fall swiftly and might pose a significant threat to anyone around. In most cases, a layer of clay may be found below the ground cover and on top of the bedrock in a sinkhole of this kind. After a period of time, sediments from the surface of the earth may dissolve, and when there is just a thin layer left, a sinkhole may suddenly open up, exposing the emptiness that has been developing underneath.
Pumping groundwater during freezes to avoid crop damage, excavation, drilling wells, building landfills, breaking or leaking water lines or other human activities may potentially cause sinkholes.
What You Should Do if You See a Sinkhole
If you see any of the following signs of a potential sinkhole, you should call an expert, like Evercor, to assess the situation. Here are a few of the tell-tail signs of a sinkhole:
- The ground is sinking
- Drooping trees or fence posts
- Soil that is sinking which has exposed foundations or tree roots
- Cracks in the structure of doors, windows, or walls
- Settlement of the foundation
- Circular areas of wilting vegetation
- Small depressions or ponds
- Any size of deep vertical hole
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