Messing with the Earth does have its consequences. West, Texas may be on the verge of finding out just what those consequences are.

For those of you who don't know, out in West, Texas there's a sink a hole that's as big as a football field.

Think about that for a moment. Remember back a bit the sink hole that opened up in Kentucky that swallowed up classic Corvettes?

Via Wall Street Journal on YouTube
Via Wall Street Journal on YouTube
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That sinkhole was 60-feet long, 45-feet wide, and 30-feet deep. That seems big. Hell it looks big. It's a zit compared to what's out west.

Via Google Maps
Via Google Maps
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Just west of Odessa, Texas you'll see the small towns of Wink and Kermit. Southwest of Kermit is a sinkhole that's about 360 feet wide. That's a football field folks.

Via Google Maps
Via Google Maps
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The sinkhole Northeast of Wink varies between 600 and 900 feet across, and both are over a hundred feet deep.

Via Google Maps
Via Google Maps
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Here you can see the two together. They're about a mile apart. The real bad news. For reasons I'll leave up to your political views. Natural sinking or Big Oil. Whatever. Lord knows there's others around the world. A new study by geophysicists at SMU in Dallas, have found that the massive sinkholes are even more unstable. The ground around them seems to be subsiding which suggest the holes are getting bigger, and might even combine.

Now take a look at the first photo again. The one with Odessa in it, and imagine a big black mark just to the left.

Your Big Q Tip for today...If you get offered a great deal on land in West Texas, make sure it's not between Wink and Kermit. If it is, take a pass.

 

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    Sinkholes

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