Sinkholes at the Dead Sea have threatened tourists and forced Israeli (and perhaps Jordanian)authorities to close various facilities and cancel development plans to avoid these geologic hazards. These are not your typical Karst sinkholes. According to a recent AP article, they are caused by the erosion of salt deposits by fresh water as a result of the lowering of the water level. This is a human caused phenomenon as current size of the Dead Sea is just 1/3 of its size in 1960 since water has been diverted from the Jordan River, its main tributary to be evaporated for its phosphates. At the end of the article is an interesting note that the World Bank is currently evaluating a proposal to replenish the Dead Sea by digging a $15 Billion canal from the Red Sea, about 100 miles away. (Photo by urban_hipster)
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North Carolina Landslide Hazards
Geology.com pointed out a very nice PDF version of a Power Point presentation by the North Carolina Geologic Survey on their landslide hazard mapping efforts in western North Carolina. The presentation was dated August 1 of last year. The NCGS also has their landslide mapping products available for download, and those so inclined can download the GIS data sets as well. (Photo by NCGS)
7 Amazing Holes
A colleague of mine (thanks Jamie!) sent me an email with this intriguing title. I have no idea where it originated, but it is an interesting compilation of some amazing photos and short descriptions of various natural and man-made "holes". A few sinkholes, glory holes, and of course open pit mines. By the way I didn’t write (or edit) this, just some minor formatting updates. Check it out.