What forms when the roof of the cave collapses?

What forms when the roof of the cave collapses?

Sinkholes occur naturally, especially where there is abundant rainfall, and the rock beneath the surface soil is limestone. For instance, a cenote (pronounced “seh-NOH-tay”) is a type of sinkhole that forms when the roof of an underground cave collapses, exposing the water to the surface.

What happens when the roof of an underground cavern collapses?

Sinkholes are cavities in the ground that form when water erodes an underlying rock layer. Two types of sinkholes exist. One forms when the roof of a cave collapses and exposes the underground cavern. Without rock to support it, the soil layer collapses and creates a hole on the surface.

Is a circular depression that forms at land surface when the rock beneath collapses?

A sinkhole is a depression in the ground that has no natural external surface drainage. Sinkholes are most common in what geologists call, “karst terrain.” These are regions where the type of rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them.

Is formed when roof of limestone cave collapse?

These caves, in turn, drain into tributaries of larger rivers. The formation of sinkholes involves natural processes of erosion or gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table.

What rock is most susceptible to dissolution?

Carbonate rocks such as limestone, composed mostly of the mineral calcite (CaCO3) are very susceptible to dissolution by groundwater during the process of chemical weathering. Such dissolution can result in systems of caves and sinkholes.

What happens to clay minerals as they wet and then dry out?

What happens to clay minerals as they wet and then dry out? Clay minerals expand when wetted and contract (shrink) when desiccated (dried out). Dissolution occurs when minerals (or the rocks they make up) separate into their separate components in water.

What is it called when rocks dissolved by water?

Ritseling Cave. Weathering is the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering. Once a rock has been broken down, a process called erosion transports the bits of rock and mineral away.