In the region of Guangxi, China, a team of scientists discovered a giant sinkhole inside which there is a primitive forest.

According to the

Chinese news agency Xinhua

, which reported on this find, the sinkhole is 306 meters long, 150 meters wide and 192 meters deep.

That is a volume of more than five million cubic meters.

According to information from the press agency, relayed by

Ouest-France

, speleologists also discovered three large caves in the wall.

According to their manager, it is "remains of the evolution of the abyss"

,

at the bottom of which is the forest.

A giant abyss, sheltering its own forest, has just been discovered in China!

💙🌿



A breathtaking discovery!

On Friday May 6, a team of Chinese speleologists discovered a giant sinkhole in the Zhuang region of Guangxi, in southern China.

pic.twitter.com/kNmxfDr9Or

– Rachele (@Gevenoismartin1) May 17, 2022


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An Unsurprising Discovery

To the Live Science online site, a doctor of geology and expert in caves confided that this discovery was hardly surprising in view of the topography of southern China.

According to our colleagues, these giant pits, or sinkholes, are formed when the source rock dissolves.

Slightly acidic, the rainwater then takes care of enlarging these faults, which become tunnels whose ceiling ends up collapsing.

It is then that the precipice appears.

According to

Ouest-France

, about 20% of the world's continental mass is made up of caves or volcanoes.

This is particularly the case in Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

Concerning this sinkhole found in China, it nevertheless arouses the particular interest of researchers, who hope to discover new species there that have never been reported before.

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