ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Any long-time residents of the Sunshine State are likely all too familiar with sinkholes.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re a relatively common staple of Florida, thanks to the fact that the state sits on a bedrock made up mainly of limestone.<\/p>\n
And because of how porous limestone is, water can seep in and eat away at this layer, forming cracks that eventually cause the ground itself to collapse.<\/p>\n
While nowhere in the state<\/a> is immune to sinkholes, Central Florida tends to see them form much more often, leading to the region being dubbed \u201cSinkhole Alley.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes all the way from Hillsborough County, and close to Tampa, all the way up to Daytona, and it goes through our areas of Maitland and Winter Park,\u201d UCF\u2019s Dr. Manoj Chopra<\/a> told News 6 last year.<\/p>\n [BELOW: Deadly Central Florida sinkhole is also the deepest]<\/p>\n However, experts at the University of Florida<\/a> say that more sinkholes have been forming in recent years due to factors like climate change and land development.<\/p>\n In fact, a 300-foot-deep sinkhole opened up beneath a Central Florida fertilizer plant back in 2016, which reportedly sent millions of gallons of contaminated sludge<\/a> into the state\u2019s main drinking water aquifer.<\/p>\n When it comes to sinkholes, the Florida Geological Society breaks down the state into four main types of areas<\/a>:<\/p>\n AreaDescriptionSinkholes?CitiesIBare or thinly covered limestoneFew, generally being shallow, wide and happening over timeMiami, Hollywood, HialeahIIConsists mainly of permeable sandFew, generally being shallow, small and happening over timeFt. Lauderdale, Orlando, Port St. LucieIIIMainly heavy soil with low permeabilityMost numerous, with varying sizes and happening abruptlyTampa, Tallahassee, St. PetersburgIVCohesive sediments interlayed with discontinuous carbonate bedsVery few, but some large, deep sinkholes may occurJacksonville, St. AugustineA “Sinkhole Risk Map” using data from the Florida Geological Survey. (Red = Area 1; Blue = Area 2; Green = Area 3; and Purple = Area 4) (Arcgis)<\/p>\n The map also shows which counties these different areas span. As it turns out, the worst stretch of sinkholes in the state is in west-Central Florida, where large amounts of karst limestone<\/a> can be found below ground.<\/p>\n