Sinkhole Montreal

Sinkhole Montreal the latest puzzling pit:

Not more than a week has passed since the Kansas sinkhole in Hoss' hayfield emerged without warning, and now a second hole in the ground has just given way. This time in the middle of a busy street in downtown Montreal Canada.

At approximately 25-feet across (so far) Montreal's sinkhole, however, is considerably smaller than the one which continues to grow in the state of Kansas. 

Nevertheless, it still managed to suck down an entire backhoe -- sans its operator, thankfully.

Sink-holing is relatively rare in Kansas, but the metropolis of Montreal and parts thereabout have regularly done battle with them. In fact, this newest one is the third or fourth to develop in that particular neighborhood, some of which have swallowed up more than one vehicle!

The Toronto Sun reports that, as with most of the other sinkholes that suddenly appeared in their region, the cause of this latest one is most likely decrepit infrastructure as well.

A sewer main had been leaking for weeks in that exact location, its effluence slowly but surely undermining the earth right beneath the pavement.

Hoss' pocked pasture, on the other hand, is still being investigated, as there is no known geological reason for why the bottomless pit should have begun growing there overnight.

No scientific explanation has yet been offered either, but usually in rural areas like Kansas heavy rains or severe droughts are the culprits. Especially when soluble soils, which are notoriously unstable, are involved.

As can be seen by the dramatic image above, sinkholes can pose significant hazards and some people have actually died as a result. Fortunately though no one was hurt in either recent episodes. 

You can view more images of Sinkhole Montreal here, and see a picture of the massive Kansas sinkhole too, plus learn about the science behind this weird phenomena, here.