Sinkholes are scarily common, and although some are small and harmless, others open gaping holes in the ground that could swallow entire buildings — or passing cars.
Recently, a sinkhole that formed in the middle of a highway in Crimea killed six people traveling in a car that fell into the hole.
Sinkholes occur when bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock is eaten away by acidic groundwater or a surge of pressure caused by heavy rains or burst pipes. Sinkholes happen, sometimes suddenly, all over the U.S. as well as elsewhere in the world where the bedrock is susceptible — notably in China, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea.
The most dangerous chasms are the ones that cause parts of cities to collapse abruptly, and we've put together some of the best pictures of sinkholes devouring streets, sidewalks, and buildings all over the world.
In May 1981 a gigantic sinkhole developed over the course of a day in Winter Park Florida. The city stabilized and sealed the area, converting it into an urban lake.
In 1995, a 60-foot-deep sinkhole made a 200-foot by 150-foot hole that swallowed two homes in San Francisco's high-end Sea Cliff neighborhood.
In 1998 this enormous chasm — 800 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 70 feet deep — opened up over two days after heavy rains and a drainage pipe burst in San Diego.
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