10 – Guatemala Sinkholes,

• In 2007, a 300-foot-deep sinkhole swallowed a dozen homes in Guatemala, killing two and causing thousands of residents to evacuate. The sinkhole was caused by heavy rain and a corroded underground sewage system.

• What residents thought was an earthquake was actually the formation of a massive sinkhole. The hole is an almost perfect circle and has a drop equivalent to 30 stories.
• Three years later, another hole, 200 feet deep and 60 feet wide, consumed a three-story building in the city. The hole had been developing gradually, but the torrential rain and mudslides during Tropical Storm Agatha sped up the process.

9 – Dead Sea Holes,

• The Israeli town of Ein Gedi has over 3,000 open sinkholes along its coast. Experts believe there are twice as many more that have yet to open up.
• The Dead Sea is drying up at a rate of 1 metre per year, causing sinkholes.
• The sinkholes occurred because of the chronic water shortage in the area, an issue compounded in recent years by a large and growing population. The sinkholes attract many tourists, which leads to further water shortage and even more sinkholes. The situation is further exacerbated by the presence of several chemical factories in the area.

8 – Mirny Diamond Mine,

• The Mirny Diamond Mine was the first developed and largest diamond mine in the Soviet Union. It’s 525 metres deep and has a top diameter of 1,200 metres.
• The airspace above the mine was relegated a no-fly zone after incidents where helicopters were sucked in by a downward air flow.
• The diamond-bearing deposits were discovered on June 13, 1955 by Soviet geologists during the largest Amakinsky Expedition. During this expedition, traces of the volcanic rock Kimberlite were found.
• The mine’s surface operation lasted 44 years before closing in June 2001.

7 – Siberian Holes,

• Three holes were recently discovered in Siberia. The first, estimated to be 50–100 metres across, has been found to have a lake at the bottom of it; the second hole, miles from the first on a peninsula lovingly referred to as ‘The End of the World’, is only about 15 metres wide; and the third hole, which was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders, is a near-perfect cone-shaped hole about 4 metres wide and 60–100 metres deep.
• The ring of dirt and debris around each hole indicates these massive holes were created by a force that stemmed from inside the Earth and exploded outward. Theories for the cause of these explosions include stray missiles, gas-related mishaps, pranks and, of course, extra terrestrial interference.
• One major working theory suggests the holes are a kind of reverse sinkhole that has yet to be scientifically documented. Instead of collapsing in on themselves, it’s thought the holes were initiated by underground fissures that caused the melting of permafrost. The holes then filled with natural gas and, when the pressure became too great, dirt and debris erupted outwards.

6 – Harwood Hole,

• Harwood Hole, located in New Zealand’s Abel Tasman National Park, is one of several important cave systems in Takaka Hill, between the Tasman and Golden Bays.
• A 50-metre-round sinkhole entrance, it descends 183 metres vertically and has an overall depth of 357 metres.
• Abel Tasman is a very popular national park in New Zealand, and a world-renowned sea kayaking destination.
  

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