io9
It was only a matter of time. After drilling Mother Earth and exploiting her oil resources for centuries, the planet is retaliating. A sinkhole 260 feet deep and 900 feet long has opened up in Daisetta Texas, swallowing Telephone poles, tractors, and oil drilling equipment. The hole was still growing as of Thursday, threatening to consume a main highway nearby as geologists struggled to figure out the reasons behind its mysterious formation.
Local geologists think drilling activities could've caused the hole, which was still growing as of Thursday, and threatening to consume a main highway nearby. Turns out, Daisetta is sitting on top of a giant salt dome, which is great for trapping oil. But drillers have a tendency to circulate salt water back down the holes the bore, which scientists think might've dissolved the dome and caused the collapse. Here is a photo of a shallower portion of the sinkhole, with barrels floating in it.
That's just a theory, though — how sinkholes form is a bit of a mystery of science. Some people think unusual groundwater percolation can carve out an underground cavern that suddenly collapses. Either that or the angry Earth could've sent giant Sarlacc worm-plants to eat all humans and digest us in excruciating pain over thousands of years.
Source: Associated Press
Non-Sarlacc images via AP.
Comments
Everything is bigger in Texas.. har har..
I like the Sarlacc idea..
I saw some interviews of some Daisetta locals last night on the news, and my God, I was ashamed to be a Texan. It' almost like they went in for interviews, found nothing but middle aged yuppies, and decided that wasn't Texan enough, so they went and found the most stereotypical southern backwoods hicks they could find. Not that I deny the presence of said southern backwoods hicks in reality, I just never realized how bad it was.
You're all wrong...
The giant mothership that was buried there for thousands of years finally decided to leave...
That weak serum must have worked :)
Just how close is this to Houston....
@Belabras: Gettin' closer *all the time!*
It's actually The First:
"From beneath you it devours..."
@Belabras: About 50-55 miles Northeast
I don't think I'll be driving to Austin this weekend.
@workingonyourinvoice:Been through there a few times. If that's what you saw, it is a fairly accurate representation of the town.
@workingonyourinvoice: Where in Texas do you live?
I believe less a sinkhole than an asshole.
Martian tripod?
That Sarlac photo's badly positioned...I thought it WAS a photo of the hole.
I guess somebody drank a bit too much of someone's milkshake.
Seriously thought, if the opening of the Hellmouth doesn't convince people in Texas that they need to be less dependent on an oil economy what ever will?
@Belabras: I just went to austin last weekend. Good times.
@Mathmos: Houston, souf side.
@workingonyourinvoice: The news does it on purpose. In my neck of the woods, they pick out the loudest, least-intelligible black folks they can find, preferably with really bad teeth. There's no attempt to pick normal folks, just the most extreme stereotypes they can find.
@JennaW
"@Belabras: Gettin' closer *all the time!*"
rofl.. you cruel girl you ;)
Reminds me of that great Harlan Ellison short short "Ecowareness" in APPROACHING OBLIVION. The earth starts taking revenge by erupting volcanoes, creating giant sinkholes, and swallowing Barbara Streisand. It also has the most brilliant final two sentences in all fiction.
It's actually not too far from the Cash-Landrum incident. Hmmm....
BTW, if you live in or around Houston and you're browsing IO9 and haven't gone to the site of the Cash-Landrum incident, you need to go, preferably after 10PM (and with an easily scared girl).
@workingonyourinvoice: I live in Austin, formerly in Houston
This is out of those cheesy 10.5 earthquake movies they run ever other weekend on SciFi.
No one's mentioned that they've taken to calling it the "Sinkhole de Mayo" down there yet?
Comedy GOLD people! XD
@JennaW: Hahaha! I love that. It would have made a better angle for the story than the Sarlacc-thing, although that was funny too.
meh, Texas WISHES it had the Great Pit of Carkoon!
[starwars.wikia.com]
@workingonyourinvoice: It's kind of funny how they all said that this(sinkhole) was the most exciting thing that has happen there.
This never fails to make me laugh (NSFW):
ยป [www.urbandictionary.com]
@Torley: hahaha love the chode page.
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