So I noticed a sinkhole on a satellite image and hiked to it yesterday. A 2.5 easy hike from the nearest paved road out in the middle of nowhere north of Flagstaff about 25 miles. That’s what I did yesterday. Near Wupatki National Monument is you know the area. The sinkhole was about 100 feet deep with no way inside that I woulda liked to try. The bottom was full of tumbleweeds. Who knows how deep the tumbleweeds are. In spots, maybe 20 feet deep. It woulda been cool to see the bottom before the tumble weeds came to the West about a 100 years ago as they were an invasive species that came from Russia. Mighta seen bones and possible Native American artifacts down at the bottom. Tumble weeds are officially called Russian Thistle by the way.

Brought a rifle in case I came across a coyote as the antelope will be having their young soon and want to help the declining antelope population. Didn’t see a coyote or antelope. Only cut one antelope track about a week old.


Here are some pictures of the sinkhole. One with some pottery shred. I am technically challenged so don’t know how to properly insert them photos. Sorry about that.

I've never seen something like that in person, but I would very much like to.

Interesting. Southern Idaho is largely volcanic. There are lots of these holes out in the lava beds although not as deep as that. Most of these are collapsed lava tubes.

I agree about the tumbleweeds. We've been seeing a lot more Russian thistle the last 10 years or so. It's really spreading. People often call mustard tumbleweeds but that isn't the same thing. Between the thistle and cheat grass, our ranges are really taking a serious hit.

Cool. We have them in northeast Iowa. Most of them are full of rattle snakes and old junked cars.

kwg

Cool stuff…!

This is a karst region here where I live. Limestone, sinkholes, and caves. I have many, and I many sinkholes, and 3 caves here on my farm.

Toss a molotov cocktail into those Tumble weeds they'll be gone quick!

Looks more like what I'd call a grotto forming, rather than a sinkhole.

Sinkhole is a hole in the top of a cave.

Grotto is erosion around a rock face, leading to an undercut.

Looks like just dirt around the rockface.

Could be

It’s all limestone in the area. Not much dirt cover on top of the limestone

The hole is pretty much vertical all the way around it. One wall was solid limestone, the other sides were fractured limestone. The vertical wall was at least 100 feet deep, the other fractured rock sides were say 50. It’s kinda on a slope.

Hahahaha

With my luck, somehow, bad chit would happen if I did

Doubt its limestone, more likely a slip/fault zone(?) related to the volcanic activity in the area.

https://azgs.arizona.edu/photo/geologic-cross-section-flagstaff-area-northern-arizona

Those are the kinds of areas I love to explore. Thanks for sharing.

Are you really SURE that it's not leaking methane?

maybe there's different varieties of limestone but around here limestone is white looks more like a variety of sandstone in the picture but without being there it's really hard to tell

Another link from the page SBTCO posted

https://azgs.arizona.edu/photo/bottomless-pit-kaibab-limestone-flagstaff-ca-1915

It's limestone. Kaibab Limestone. Flagstaff knows his rocks. this is displacement along the east kaibab monocline runs all the way from Chavez pass up into Ut. Makes up eastern edge of Gray Mountain, the kaibab Plateau, and the cockscomb in southern UT, and even cottonwood Canyon on the way to Bryce.

One of the members in Kaibab Formation has a lot of gypsum that dissolves out and forms sink holes. They are all over the north kaibab (unit 12)

Being on the hinge of the monocline (flexure point) allows even more surface water in to dissolve the gypsum.

Sycamore

The day after we left the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green it caved in and damaged some classics.

Wouldn't make a bad buffalo jump

Well, I'd look for something shallower as I'd not like to climb down that to butcher a buffalo or 16 and I doubt I'd like carrying buffalo pieces up out of there.

That would work! 🤣

Interesting . I was out that way (Wupatki National Monument) a few years ago.

There’s a big one on the north side of I-40 a mile or two northwest of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. It’s probably on private property.

You can see it easily on Google Earth.

Lots of big sinkholes in Mexico

Where I live is definitely limestone and there are very deep and extensive caves. I found one which had an opening about 6 feet in diameter. I dropped a rock down the hole, and it took at least three seconds to hit, the first time. It occurred to me that the opening was probably smaller than the cave and I felt more than a little nervous. Should I ever have to dispose of a body, that's where it's going! Spelunking is definitely not something which appeals to me and the thought makes me slightly nauseous. GD

Limestone areas with nodules in them are good places to look for arrowheads in the brown dirt ( bonus sign) areas and elevations around them, espically if their are old water areas around them or old water area sign geography around them.

Old sinkholes with water courses that goes to them or what you can see geography wise that existed 1000,s of yrs ago.

Need to hone in on those places and confirm yes or no if it has arrowheads in the area.

You will find places that are kick azz that others don't put in the leg work to find that look like nothing spots to their eyes or just too plain lazy to check...

First look at the pics and I had to readjust my gauges a little, 'cause it doesn't look like "sinkhole" to me. More like a gap related to plate shift. No big deal at all, either way.

We have limestone sinkholes here in Floriduh by the bucket full...

Does insurance cover that kind of damage?

For a house in Alabama, you have to have a sinkhole rider. Cost very little but not many folks know about it. I do have it.

Same here in Floriduh.

Well, that's what I get for not reading further. I looked at the first diagram/cross section in the link and assumed the limestone was way deeper across the whole landscape.
Thanks for clarifying.