A “mini Grand Canyon ” has appeared on a mountain range in Wyoming in the United States. The 30-meter-deep fissure was just a gash when it was discovered last September, today it’s a real sinkhole.
In August 2016, hunters spotted a huge rift in Wyoming (western United States). “The Crack”, the “crack”, as it has been nicknamed by the inhabitants of the region. Discovered for the first time at the beginning of September, the geological formation which was only a simple crack turned into a huge crevasse measuring more than 685 meters long and 46 meters wide. Fortunately, the breach opened up in an uninhabited area.
Dispatched to the scene, an engineer from Riverton, a town located near the area, explains this formation by the rainy spring that raged in the region and the effect of gravity. According to him, the rocks that are too wet are the cause of the weakening and subsidence of the ground. According to the Wyoming State Geological Survey, it would rather be a landslide, but the various experts agree that it is not a rare phenomenon.
“ It certainly shows the power of the Earth. Wyoming is a geological wonder (the state has sites like Grand Tetons or Yellowstone National Park, editor’s note) and here is a new example of this wonder , ”explains geologist Tom Drean.
The images, unveiled a few days after Halloween, sparked a lot of reactions from Internet users, seeing in this crack the “door of darkness”.
Article updated on 7 December 2022
