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This Sinkhole Swallowed a Soccer Field!
LAWRENCE BRYANT/REUTERS
LOOK OUT BELOW! This sinkhole opened in the middle of an Illinois park, swallowing a lamppost and a large chunk of a turf soccer field.
Early one morning last June, the ground at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, Illinois, suddenly collapsed. It left a 30 meter (100 foot)-wide sinkhole in the middle of a soccer field.
Sinkholes usually form naturally as water erodes, or gradually washes away, rocks underground. Eventually, the ground can no longer support the surface above, and it sinks. The Alton sinkhole was likely caused by the collapse of a limestone mine beneath the park. When the roof of the mine crumbled, it took the soccer field with it. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Most natural sinkholes form gradually. But occasionally, the right conditions lead to a sudden and dramatic collapse. How does the process shown here compare with what happened in Alton?
ILLUSTRATION BY KATE FRANCIS
1. Rainwater seeps through soil. The slightly acidic water eats away at the bedrock below to form a cavity. Sediment begins to fall into the hole.
2. Some of the soil flows into the cavity below. This leaves behind an arch over the hole.
3. The cavity grows larger, but the arch remains intact, supporting the ground above. The hole is undetectable from the surface.
4. Eventually, the arch over the cavity collapses, creating a sudden sinkhole.