What caused the sinkhole in Bayou Corne?
BATON ROUGE — It’s been six years since the Bayou Corne sinkhole appeared. The result of a collapsed salt dome cavern, the sinkhole grew from one acre to around 34, swallowing whole trees in its path and releasing methane gas.
What caused the sinkhole in Assumption Parish Louisiana?
The sinkhole was caused by a failed brine cavern Texas Brine mined in the Napoleonville Salt Dome. Salt domes are naturally occurring deposits of salt, which can span for miles and stretch thousands of feet below ground.
Where is the biggest sinkhole in the United States?
Alabama
Alabama claims to have the largest recent collapse sinkhole. It is called the “Golly Hole” and is located in Shelby County in the central part of the state. It collapsed suddenly in 1972. The sinkhole is about 325 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 120 feet deep.
Where is Bayou Corne located?
Assumption Parish, Louisiana
Bayou Corne is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the bayou of the same name. It is in the northwestern part of the parish along Louisiana Highway 70, 7 miles (11 km) west of Paincourtville and 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Pierre Part.
How deep is the sinkhole in Louisiana?
750 ft
The sinkhole, located in northern Assumption Parish, Louisiana, was discovered on August 3, 2012, and 350 nearby residents were advised to evacuate….
| Bayou Corne sinkhole | |
|---|---|
| Surface area | 37 acres (15 ha) |
| Max. depth | at least 750 ft (230 m) |
What happened to Bayou Corne sinkhole?
What happened in Bayou Corne, as near as anyone can tell, is that one of the salt caverns Texas Brine hollowed out—a mine dubbed Oxy3—collapsed. The sinkhole initially spanned about an acre. Today it covers more than 24 acres and is an estimated 750 feet deep. The regulators blame Texas Brine.
How big is the sinkhole in Louisiana?
What happened in Bayou Corne, as near as anyone can tell, is that one of the salt caverns Texas Brine hollowed out—a mine dubbed Oxy3—collapsed. The sinkhole initially spanned about an acre. Today it covers more than 24 acres and is an estimated 750 feet deep.
Is the Bayou Corne sinkhole still growing?
More than a year after it appeared, the Bayou Corne sinkhole is about 25 acres and still growing, almost as big as 20 football fields, lazily biting off chunks of forest and creeping hungrily toward an earthen berm built to contain its oily waters.
What happened Bayou Corne?
One of the most devastating occurred in 2012 at a place called Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish. There, a drilling company called Texas Brine accidentally caused the collapse of a massive cave over 5,000 feet below the bayou in the course of drilling for concentrated salt.
Where was the doline de Bayou Corne sinkhole?
The Bayou Corne Sinkhole (French: Doline de Bayou Corne) was created from a collapsed underground salt dome cavern operated by Texas Brine Company and owned by Occidental Petroleum. The sinkhole, located in northern Assumption Parish, Louisiana, was discovered on August 3, 2012, and 350 nearby residents were advised to evacuate.
How big are the salt domes in Louisiana?
Beneath much of the state of Louisiana, including these bayous, are salt domes, gigantic deposits left during the formation of the North American continent. These domes vary wildly in scale and depth, some as much as 35,000 feet below the surface and as large as Mount Everest.
When did the residents of Bayou Corne evacuate?
The residents of Bayou Corne, who as of March 2014 have been evacuated for 19 months, have involved themselves in a protracted legal battle with Texas Brine. From the start of the evacuation, each resident received checks from Texas Brine for $875 per week.