Often referred as “tiankeng,” or “sky holes” near the southern Chinese city of Guilin they are 2,000-foot-deep wonders. The main factor to them is an underground river. It is the waterof the river that dissolves limestone to make caves, the roofs of which can give way to form sinkholes.
However the limestone at Guilin is fractured the sink hole are liable to form along vertical cracks forming steep walls. Rubble due to the cave in is dissolved by the waters of the river and over the eons cavern opens to the sky and a tiankeng is born Arthur Palmer, a cave expert at the State University of New York at Oneonta is quoted to have said
“You are impressed by how abrupt they are. These do tend to be the biggest in the world.”
Geologist William White, an emeritus professor at Pennsylvania State University is quoted to have said
“You could fit a couple of Empire State Buildings in and they’d disappear,”.
It would definitely be worth it to visit such extrordinary natural wonders especially now when China is becoming tourism friendly.
Via: discovery
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