Re: Sinkhole in Florida
Posted by alligatorob on 3/10/2013, 9:26 am
Sinkholes are natural, much of our landscape in Florida is covered with old sinkhole depressions and lakes that opened up over the past thousands of years.   I pass half a dozen or more such small sinkhole lakes every day on my commute to work.

Most of Florida is limestone with a thin layer of sand on top, sinkholes happen when the sand drains into an opening or cavern in the underlying limestone.  Most sinkholes open up when the water table is low, less buoyant force holding the sand up.  But sometimes heavy rains, particularly following a drought can cause sinkholes when water drains rapidly down into a cavern in the limestone.   That happened last summer when tropical storm Debbie dropped 20 to 40 inches of rain in Wakulla county, a bunch of sinkholes appears, mostly small.

While sinkholes are natural they are usually caused by a low water table and in Florida groundwater pumping has artificially lowered the water table, aggravating the sinkhole problem.   So you are right sinkholes are caused both by drought and overuse of groundwater.
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Sinkhole in Florida - cypresstx, 3/1/2013, 6:50 am
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