Welcome to Roosevelt Park!!

Please use caution when completing this cache. Do not get too close to the sinkholes!

A sinkhole, also known as a cenote, sink, sink-hole, shakehole, swallet, swallow hole, or doline (the different terms for sinkholes are often used interchangeably), is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer.

Sinkholes may capture surface drainage from running or standing water, but may also form in high and dry places in specific locations.

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. Sinkholes often form through the process of suffosion. For example, groundwater may dissolve the carbonate cement holding the sandstone particles together and then carry away the lax particles, gradually forming a void.

Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone or other carbonate rock, salt beds, or in other rocks, such as gypsum, that can be dissolved naturally by circulating ground water. Sinkholes also occur in sandstone and quartzite terrains.

As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. These sinkholes can be dramatic, because the surface land usually stays intact until there is not enough support. Then, a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur.

Occasionally a sinkhole may even exhibit a visible opening into a cave below. In the case of exceptionally large sinkholes, such as the Minyé sinkhole in Papua New Guinea or Cedar Sink at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, an underground stream or river may be visible across its bottom flowing from one side to the other.

The coordinates above take you to the parking area at Roosevelt Park. As you walk through the park, you can see numerous sinkholes. Please use caution around these sinkholes and when exploring the area! This area is also open to bow hunting, so please remember your blaze orange during hunting seasons!