Check Out The Massive 200-Foot Sinkhole That Opened Up In Kansas

The above video just looks like some very dry and crumbly earth. It may not surprise you in the least to learn the shot is from Kansas, but it should be a little bit of a shock to learn that what you are looking at is actually a giant sinkhole that recently opened up in Wallace County in the state. Nearby residents are stating that the sinkhole popped up overnight, which is pretty incredible, considering the fact that it is 200 feet across and 90 feet-deep.

The sinkhole popped up in a pasture on property owner Dalton Hoss’s land. First, some cracks appeared in the nearly flat area and then the landowner saw his property just open up, revealing the deep and wide sinkhole. According to The Daily Mail, Sheriff Larry Townsend says the cracks potentially mean that the sinkhole might expand.

Sinkholes can be extremely dangerous. A famous case of a sinkhole opening up in Florida this year caught the nation’s attention, thanks to swallowing a live man when it opened. In fact, Jeff Bush was sleeping in his bedroom when the sinkhole opened up, pulling the flooring and all of the furniture in the room into a gaping 20-foot hole. Eventually, the home was torn down in the wake of the dangerous sinkhole and several nearby homeowners were asked to leave. While this sinkhole ended in tragedy, a lot of times sinkholes simply become something to gawk or gape at. A recent sinkhole in California, for instance, simply took out an entire pond in the backyard. The sinkhole opened up in the ground and managed to drain the entire lake in a mere five hours.

In the case of the 200-footer in Kansas, it doesn’t seem like people are too afraid of the sinkhole growing in size or area. The YouTube video of the massive hole shows people walking around and sometimes even venturing into the cracked area.

Oftentimes when a sinkhole opens up, there’s a reasonable explanation for the hole. The aforementioned California sinkhole, for instance, was linked to holes in the ground from mining that was done in the area in the past. However, in typical Bible belt style, Sheriff Townsend is calling the hole “a God thing.”

Right now, no one knows what caused the massive sinkhole, but we’ll keep you posted if the crack does widen in the coming weeks. Until then, check out some of the other wild and beautiful things that nature can sometimes offer.