ChinaA cave exploration team discovered the deep giant karst sinkhole in Leye County, according to the Xinhua news agency, bringing the number of sinkholes in the county up to 30.On Friday (May 6), a team ventured into the sinkhole and discovered that there are three cave entrances in the chasm, as well as ancient trees 131 feet (40 m) tall stretching their branches toward the sunlight that filters through the sinkhole entrance.Zhang Yuanhai, a senior engineer with the Institute of Karst Geology of China Geological Survey, said the sinkhole, located near Ping'e village under Luoxi township, also measures 306 m in length, 150 m in width, with its volume exceeding 5 million cubic metres.Zhang said that there are three big caves in the wall, which are presumed to be the remains of the early evolution of the sinkhole.
The bottom of the sinkhole has a well-preserved primitive forest with trees growing at the bottom as well as dense shade plants which reach shoulder height.Giant sinkholes, also known as Tiankeng (heavenly pit) in Chinese, are dolines, or giant pits, with special geological features found in karst regions formed by repeated cave-ins.
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