Two Vast Sinkholes in West Texas Are Growing

Two huge sinkholes in West Texas are already large enough to easily be spotted on GoogleMaps, and they’re still expanding. Though the biggest holes are a mile apart, there are smaller ones forming, and there’s worry that they may meet to make a massive sinkhole.

The holes are located between Wink and Kermit which are west of the Midland-Odessa area. As one could guess, this area was a busy location for gas and oil extraction in the 1990s, which has caused the sinkholes. Geophysicist Jin-Woo Kim has stated, “A collapse could be catastrophic.” The act of removing oil and gas equipment in the area “can dissolve the interbedded salt layers and accelerate the sinkhole collapse.”

For now, the area is being monitored and the sinkholes have been fenced off.