sinkhole
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- University of Florida Online - Infographics - How to Spot a Sinkhole
- Michigan State University Extension - Michigan Natural Features Inventory - Sinkhole
- Live Science - What are Sinkholes?
- British Geological Survey - Understanding sinkholes and karst
- Virginia Department of Energy - Sinkholes and Karst
- U.S. Geological Survey - Sinkholes
- Also called:
- sink or doline
sinkhole, topographic depression formed when underlying limestone bedrock is dissolved by groundwater. It is considered the most-fundamental structure of karst topography. Sinkholes vary greatly in area and depth and may be very large. There are two main varieties, one caused by the collapse of the roof of a cavern, the other by the gradual dissolving of rock under a soil mantle. Collapsed sinkholes generally have steep rock sides and may receive streams that then flow underground. The soil-mantled sinkhole is generally shallower than the collapsed sinkhole and receives local drainage; it may become clogged with clay and hold a small lake. Some sinkholes, formed at low sea-level stages during the Pleistocene Epoch, are now half-drowned and are known as cenotes.