Category: Holes

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South Africa, Arizona and Antarctica are Cracking Open

Is our planet breaking apart? Every day brings a new report about a mysterious or not-so-mysterious giant crack in the ground opening somewhere around the world. Three of the biggest and possibly most devastating are in South Africa, Arizona and Antarctica. What’s the latest status on them and which side should you be on? Fissure in Northern Cape, South Africa Let’s start in South Africa where a massive crack opened on January 6, 2017, between the cities of Daniëlskuil and Kuruman in Northern Cape, South Africa. Latest reports put the length of the fissure at 300 meters (980 feet) long and 30 meters (98 feet) deep. Because it’s so close, it has caused the R31 road to be closed between the cities. Heavy rains and the karst landscape – formed by the dissolution of limestone, dolomite, gypsum and other soluble rocks – makes this a sinkhole haven. The Boesmansgat […] Read More

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The Big Horn Mountains are Sliding Down a Mysterious Hole

The Bighorn Mountains stretch 200 miles from northern Wyoming to southern Montana and reach a height of 13,175 feet (4,016 meters) … minus the section that is disappearing down a mysterious crack that suddenly opened at the south end of the range. What caused this hole to open so quickly and deeply? Why are there so many of these cracks and why are they being kept secret? The massive and mysterious crack – some are calling it “The Gash” – was discovered by Randy Becker of Casper, Wyoming, while hunting on a private ranch 10 miles south of Tensleep, Wyoming. “Massive” means the crack, as of this writing, is 750 yards long by 50 yards wide and estimated to be many stories deep. “Mysterious” means that the crack wasn’t there two weeks ago and there’s disagreement on what caused it and how big it could possibly get. First thoughts […] Read More

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Another Piece of Eastern Europe Goes Down a Mysterious Hole

  First there were the mysterious craters appearing in northwestern Siberia, including some accompanied by flashes of light and one that may have had a spaceship at the bottom. Next, the city of Novokuznetsk in a different part of Siberia was hit by a slow-moving landslide that was followed by multiple craters opening up. Now there’s news from Ukraine that a huge hole has mysteriously appeared that is threatening to swallow a small town. What’s eating away at Eastern Europe? The latest crater opened up in late April 2015 in Solotvino, a small village in the Zakarpatska Oblast region of western Ukraine near the border with Romania. Residents say the 100 meters (330 feet) wide by 60 meters (200 feet) deep hole opened in just one day and swallowed seven houses in the process. The crater is getting larger by day and residents say it’s threatening other homes. What’s […] Read More

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Dozens of new craters appear in Siberia

Siberia found itself at the center of one of last year’s biggest mysteries when a number of large holes started to appear in remote areas of the country back in July. Researchers spent months investigating the phenomenon and determined that the release of gas hydrates brought about by rising temperatures was the most likely explanation. Now however it turns out that the craters may be a lot more widespread in the region than had been previously believed. “We know now of seven craters in the Arctic area,” said Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky. “Five are directly on the Yamal peninsula, one in Yamal Autonomous district, and one is on the north of the Krasnoyarsk region, near the Taimyr peninsula.” Scientists have speculated that there could be several dozen more craters spread across Siberia. “I would compare this with mushrooms: when you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around,” […] Read More