Giant sinkholes discovered containing untouched ancient forests [View all]

Story by Harriet Brewis • 2mo •
3 min read

Most of us associate sinkholes with frightening abysses, but in China, they’re considered “heavenly” for good reason. Far from being mouths of doom, a number of these have been discovered containing pristine ancient forests.

Most recently, in August 2024, cave explorers stumbled upon one of these giant holes, which experts said likely contained species of small animals that were unknown to science.

This extraordinary hole reportedly measures a whopping 300 metres (1,000 feet) in length, 150 metres (500 feet) in width and is more than 190 metres (630 feet deep). It is located in China’s southwestern karst landscape and is now one of 30 such holes known as “tiankeng” – which translates as “heavenly pits” – in the region.

The reason for the trenches’ otherworldly name is that they are some of the last-remaining natural refuges for ancient forests and are home to species unseen anywhere else in the world.

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/giant-sinkholes-discovered-containing-untouched-ancient-forests/ar-AA1WYCmT

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Please check this link to "google images" for many views of these Chinese tiankengs. They are amazing, and some of the links are connected to videos, as well:

https://tinyurl.com/mphjh2yk