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Home > Blogs > Dorrie Scott's blog > Guatemala Sinkhole

Guatemala Sinkhole

Submitted by Dorrie Scott [1] on Mon, 10/11/2010 - 11:16am

photo of sinkholeI know what you're thinking, "this can't be real".  The first time I saw the images I thought they were photoshopped, but I was wrong.  The Guatamala Sinkhole [2] in downtown Guatemala City is about 60 feet wide and about 300 feet deep.  Scientist believe that Tropical Storm Agatha played a part in the sinkhole formation.  Guatemala City is built on a "pumice fill", ash and rock debris from ancient volcanic eruptions. Water saturated the ash filled soil and when it bacame too heavy it collapsed.  A three-story building is said to have fallen into the hole.

And, lest you think sinkholes only form in faraway lands, check out these photo of a sinkhold in Daisetta, Tx [3], in Liberty County.  
 


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Source URL: http://hcpl.net/content/guatemala-sinkhole

Links:
[1] http://hcpl.net/users/dorrie-scott
[2] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/photogalleries/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-pictures-world/
[3] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7390116.stm
[4] http://hcpl.net/category/tags/sinkhole
[5] http://hcpl.net/category/tags/storms
[6] http://hcpl.net/category/tags/weather
[7] http://hcpl.net/category/topical/website