Whew! What a Relief! Guatemala Sinkhole is NOT a Sinkhole!
Two days ago, on June 1st, 2010, I wrote about the sinkhole that formed in Guatemala City, saying that in the Yucatan Travel Movie we had said that sinkholes or cenotes formed in limestone millions of years ago. However, the Guatemala sinkhole, which collapsed four days ago, refuted that opinion.
Therefore, I am so happy to see that Sam Bonis, a geologist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, who is currently living in Guatemala City, says that the Guatemala sinkhole is not really a sinkhole. And, that the land through which the sinkhole collapsed is not limestone.
It is pumice fill, which is the consistency of gravel when it is spewed from a volcano, and which, over time, compresses into rock.
In fact, Bonis thinks calling the Guatemala City chasm a sinkhole is a misnomer—a true sinkhole is an entirely natural phenomenon. There is no scientific term for what happened in Guatemala, he said, adding that he recommends the pit be dubbed a piping feature.
Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature
Bonis calls it a “piping feature” because he used to work for the Guatemalan government’s national geology institute and that in investigating a similar sinkhole that occurred nearby in 2007, it was found that leaking sewer pipes had caused erosion of the loosely packed pumice fill and had led to the collapse of the 2007 sinkhole.
As part of a volunteer team that investigated the 2007 sinkhole, Bonis co-authored a report warning the Guatemalan government that similar holes will very likely keep appearing unless action is taken to inspect the city’s sewer system for weaknesses.
Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature
So that’s a relief to me to know that our information in the Yucatan Travel Movie on naturally formed limestone sinkholes called cenotes still stands.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
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