On Saturday, according to Sernageomin, the country’s National Service of Geology and Mining, an enormous sinkhole wide enough to swallow the White House opens up on a plot of mining land in Chile.
The gaping, 104-foot-wide (32 meters) sinkhole(opens in new tab) appeared Saturday (July 30) in a rural area outside the town of Tierra Amarilla, about 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of the capital city, Santiago. (In comparison, the White House measures about 85 feet, or 26 m, wide.)The hole seems to be about 656 feet (200 m) deep, with a reservoir of water sloshing around the bottom, Vice reports.
The hole is opened on the site of the Alcaparrosa copper mine. As per the reports of Lundin Mining(opens in new tab), the Canadian company that owns the mine, there have been no injuries or damage. Sernageomin geologists are investigating the hole and have placed a 328-foot (100 m) security perimeter around the site.
Sinkholes are the pits in the Earth that form over areas where water gathers underground without external drainage, causing the water to carve out subterranean caverns, Live Science reports(opens in new tab).
They also form regularly near old and active mines, where the extraction of large amounts of rock and ore takes place.
Sinkholes often form gradually over many years but can also open quite suddenly and take cars, homes, and streets down with them.
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