Giant holes have been appearing and disappearing on Mount Baldy in the Indiana Dunes National Park, and experts have no idea why.
"As you can see down into the hole, it's extremely deep. We were not able to measure how deep." [National Park Service]
Holes several feet deep have been appearing and disappearing on Mount Baldy at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and experts have no idea why.
The gaps, which often measure up to a foot wide, seem to suddenly show up, and within a day are naturally refilled by the drifting sand.
There are several problems with what’s happening, including that geologically it simply shouldn’t be possible in the sandy soil.
Nonetheless, the pits have been developing for some time.
One researcher has been on the case for about 10 months.
Her investigations of Mount Baldy began after she witnessed the rescue of a young boy. He’d fallen into one of its holes and remained buried under 11 feet of sediment for hours.
Thus far she’s found nothing concrete but feels that the key to solving the mystery is somewhere in Mount Baldy’s unique history.
Unlike the other dunes, Baldy has been subjected to a great deal of human intervention, including being mined for sand to make glass and the building of a large and since buried staircase.
For now, it’s been closed pending investigation and will remain so indefinitely.
