USGS Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:

Luckily this is rare, but items like this have shown up on the evening's news. Sometimes humans are responsible for places where the land subsides and/or sinkholes develop. If large amounts of ground water are pumped from an area that is composed of a thick layer of fine-grained material then the land can become more compacted once the water is removed.

Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by ground water circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be small, or they can be huge and can occur where a house or road is on top.

The most damage from sinkholes tends to occur in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.