Dead Sea being eaten by sinkholes
There are now over 3,000 sinkholes around the
Dead Sea on the Israeli side. This compares to 40 in 1990, with the first
sinkhole appearing in the 1980s.
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| Huge cavities are forming around the drying Dead Sea. Here an aerial view of sinkholes near Kibbutz Ein Gedi in Israel’ 2011. Photo by Menahem Kahana |
The Dead Sea is
drying up at an incredible rate leaving huge chasms of empty space in its
wake. These chasms appear in the form of large, devastating sinkholes and
are increasing in number throughout the region. Experts claim they are now
forming at a rate of nearly one a day, but have no way of knowing when or how
they will show up.
Estimates by Moment
magazine suggest that, on the Israeli side alone, there are now over 3,000
sinkholes around the Dead Sea. This compares to just 40 counted in 1990,
with the first sinkhole appearing in the 1980s.
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| A close-up photo of these massive chiasms opening up around the drying Dead Sea. Photo: Foeme |
An aerial view shows a close up of a salt formation inside
a large sinkhole on the shores of the Dead Sea. The increase in sinkholes is
directly related to the Dead Sea drying up at a rate of one meter per year.
The increase in
sinkholes is directly related to the Dead Sea drying up at a rate of one meter
per year. Sinkholes are basically bowl-shaped features that form when an
empty space under the ground creates a depression. The depression is the
result of a reaction between freshwater and salt buried in a subterranean level
beneath the surface. When the freshwater dissolves the salt, it creates a
void, causing the landscape around and above it to suddenly collapse.
