Cedar Sink, Natural sinkhole in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, United States.
Cedar Sink is a natural sinkhole in Mammoth Cave National Park that drops roughly 300 feet into the ground and has a floor covering about 7 acres surrounded by limestone. The steep sides reveal layers of rock and sandstone visible from top to bottom.
The limestone formed during the Mississippian period around 320 to 360 million years ago when this region sat beneath an ancient sea. Over countless ages, moving water dissolved the rock and carved out this depression.
The site reveals how water shaped this landscape over deep time, and visitors can observe the exposed layers of sandstone and limestone along the walls. Today people visit to witness these geological forces still at work in the natural world.
The trail to the sinkhole is roughly 2.5 kilometers and requires descending and climbing back up about 295 steps, taking around an hour total. Wear good footwear since the paths are steep and can be slippery.
Water flows from underground sources into the depression and then vanishes into cracks in the walls, showing how the karst drainage system operates today. This constant water movement reveals the forces that continue reshaping the land.
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