Massive Guatemalan Hole

[champbassist]

This massive sinkhole (20 meters deep, 15 meters wide) opened up in Guatemala City: an effect of the downpour caused by Tropical Storm Agatha. No shooping here, apparently. (From: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/31...irst-volc.html)

It must suck massively to live in Guatemala, right now: first a volcano, then a storm.

[electracoyote]

I suppose it's possible, but does that ever look Photoshopped. Almost perfectly symmetrical.

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I suppose it's possible, but does that ever look Photoshopped. Almost perfectly symmetrical.

Actually, this one's getting pretty bizarre... here's a video from 2007 showing a similar hole. (Not the same, fix'd )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhA5Gqridk

What's more, if you go to the link I provided, it says the pic in the OP was posted on the Guatemalan government's flickr feed.

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I suppose it's possible, but does that ever look Photoshopped. Almost perfectly symmetrical.

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Floodi...0guatemalahole

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by champbassist

Actually, this one's getting pretty bizarre... here's a video from 2007 showing the same(?) hole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhA5Gqridk

No.

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

No.

Then Guatemala must be the land of massive urban sinkholes

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by champbassist

Then Guatemala must be the land of massive urban sinkholes

looks that way, but the sinkhole that opened up today and the one from the video you linked are definitely not the same hole.

[ehque]

Whoa, that's massive. What's the cause? Land subsidence?

[Jefenator]

Those streets look so riddled with potholes, I'm having trouble spotting which one is the sink hole.

[drteeth]

Is it just me or is it somewhat strange that the sinkhole is almost perfectly cylindrical? Isn't there supposed to be more randomness involved in this kind of shenanigans?

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by ehque

Whoa, that's massive. What's the cause? Land subsidence?

What usually happens with a sink hole is that there is a part of the ground that loses it's integrity, usually either because it's bone dry or because it's soaking wet, and the weight from the stuff on the surface causes the ground to sink basically. My aunt had one open up under her house before, and they really suck.

[bassrique]

So how big is the cavern beyond the hole?

[Gard]

Surely some Floridians remember this one:

http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2010...lando-florida/

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by Gard

Surely some Floridians remember this one:

http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2010...lando-florida/

before my time :-/

[Gard]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

before my time :-/

...you callin' me old now?

[Munjibunga]

It looks like an old mine shaft. It doesn't look like a karst sinkhole.

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

It looks like an old mine shaft. It doesn't look like a karst sinkhole.

Good point.

[stratovani]

That's the hole to Hell! Or should I say that's one helluva hole! That would be a great place to drop those Westboro Baptist Church crazies! It's the perfect place for them to be screaming their "God hates fags" BS.

[Din Of Win]

We get them in my town from time to time. It's a direct result of the local rock quarry. The mining degrades the soil and rain washes it away causing the caverns. In '08 one opened up in the middle of i70. Scary stuff. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...042401708.html)

I remember a story from a few years ago of a guy that died in his house when a sink hole opened directly under it and he fell 4 stories or something. Looking from the outside it looked perfectly normal, and inside was just a hole.


creeeeeepy

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by ehque

Whoa, that's massive. What's the cause? Land subsidence?

I'm thinking alien spacecraft with a big friggin lazor! It's too perfectly round not to have been made by a spacecraft with a big friggin lazor!