Watch A Giant Sinkhole Swallow an Entire Louisiana Swamp

There are times when real life is stranger than fiction and this video captures one of these times. In the below clip, we get to see a Louisiana swamp, complete with some tall trees, disappearing under the water. It truly is incredible, but what exactly is happening here?

Why Did a Sinkhole Occur at Bayou Corne?

This sinkhole is located at Bayou Corne which is an unincorporated community in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. Beneath the ground in this area there are large salt deposits that are shaped like domes. This particular deposit has been mined by digging out a cavern, pumping water through and then sucking out the salty water which is called brine. The salt is important for several industries including the petrochemical industry that manufactures PVC and bleach.

What’s the History of the Bayou Corne Sinkhole?

This mine was operated by the Texas Brine Company and in 2010 it failed a routine pressure test. According to press reports, the owners plugged it and filled it with brine to equalize the pressure and effectively abandoned it. At this time, it was not considered that a breach was likely.

In May 2012, bubbling spots were reported in the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou waterways in Louisiana. Monitoring was carried out but no dangerous levels of ‘swamp gases’ were detected. However, local residents experienced tremors which were also subsequently recorded by officials.

Then, on August 3^rd 2012, one of the hollowed out salt caverns of a mine called Oxy3 collapsed. Essentially, the wall of an empty salt mine broke. At a depth of 5,000 feet, dirt and rock poured into the cavern creating a massive hole at the surface that quickly filled in with water sucking in trees and plants too.

This was the formation of the sinkhole which was accompanied by a strong smell of diesel. Initially, the sink hole spanned about an acre. A mandatory evacuation order was issued and many residents left.

What Happened After the Sinkhole Developed?

Subsequent collapses have occurred ever since including the one captured in this clip. Some seem to have been triggered by heavy rain. Also, many other bubble sites have been reported. Even more land has since fallen into the sinkhole. By 2018, it was thought to cover more than 34 acres and to be more than 350 feet deep!

Here’s the startling footage!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © anjahennern/Shutterstock.com