While there are some places on Earth where it's easy to live, there are also spots you should stay away from, where you never know when the ground might give way beneath you.
Giant cracks blocking roads or the kind that force polar expedition teams to move their bases.
Cracks that split entire continents.
Today, we're going to talk about places like that.
The Crack in Mexico
Mexico is a country that shakes a lot.
For instance, between April and July of 2014, there were three earthquakes in Mexico, ranging from magnitude 6.6 to 7.2.
The residents thought one of those earthquakes was responsible for a huge crack that appeared in the northern state of Sonora.
On August 15th, a drone captured footage of the crack, about 1 km long, near Hermosillo.
The crack was 5 meters wide and 8 meters deep.
It crossed Route 26 between Hermosillo and the coast, so it definitely didn’t go unnoticed.
You couldn’t drive through it, and going around it was a hassle.
Where did this troublesome crack come from?
The "Gash" in Wyoming
One day in 2015, Randy Becker, while wandering around the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, was in for a shock.
As a hunter, he knew the area well, but he didn’t expect to find a massive crack about 680 meters long and 46 meters wide.
This newly formed fissure, looking like this, was quickly given the simple, surprising name “The Crack.”
More imaginative folks started calling it “The Gash.”
Geologists believe this impressive rift in the mountain was caused by a sudden landslide.
Heavy rains may have played a role in washing away the unstable soil.
In any case, you probably shouldn’t be walking along the edge of a crack like this.
Gravity might pull a nasty trick on you.
The Dabbahu Crack
In 2005, a highly intriguing crack appeared and was soon captured by the satellite Envisat.
There was no missing the dramatic event that accompanied the formation of this crack.
On September 26th, the ground around the Dabbahu Volcano in the Danakil Desert, Ethiopia, began to swell.
This area became one of the most dangerous zones in Africa, a place to stay far away from.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 4.2, and 130 tremors were recorded underground.
Naturally, this unstable situation “excited” the Dabbahu Volcano, causing its first and only eruption ever recorded.
For three days, ash clouds were so dense that they darkened the skies.
But what really caught people’s attention was what appeared on the ground.
The Taita Hills
Recently, a crack appeared in Pinal County, Arizona.
Between March and December of 2014, a deep, winding crack measuring 1.5 km formed in the Taita Hills region, south of Arizona City.
Its size soon doubled, making it the longest crack in the area.
Local geological experts believe the crack's appearance is related to excessive water extraction from wells.
Due to overconsumption of water, the aquifer didn't have enough time to recharge with rainwater, causing the soil to sink and endangering homes and roads.
The total length of the cracks in the area has now reached about 17 km.
And it seems like it’s still spreading.
The Hole of Hell-Le Puits d'Enfer
Do you often lose your TV remote?
It seems like it was just in your hand, but it has fallen into a bottomless pit and will never be found again.
The people of Les Sables-d'Olonne in France believe that a hole of hell, called Le Puits d'Enfer, exists in their town.
This massive crack is about 10 meters deep and 30 meters long, and legend has it that if you fall in, you will disappear forever.
Le Puits d'Enfer is located along the Atlantic coast.
During high tide, tourists gather to watch the sea water crash against the narrow fissure in the half-sunken rock.
You might remember the old legend of the knight Thibaut.
The Antarctic Continent
The Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica has developed many deep cracks, which were stable until recently, so no one was too worried.
However, in 2012, the situation changed dramatically.
The cracks began to spread rapidly, forcing researchers to observe the area more closely.
It was clear that something was about to happen.
Then, on February 26, 2021, a massive chunk of ice measuring 1,270 square kilometers broke off the ice shelf.
That’s larger than the combined area of Bahrain, Andorra, Malta, and 20 other countries.
Iceberg A-74, measuring 56 km in length and 33 km in width, became one of the largest icebergs ever recorded and was placed under careful observation.
The Crack in China
On the internet, this crack has been said to have appeared after the earthquake in Turkey in 2023.
However, you shouldn't believe that.
This crack is 10 km long and is located in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province, China.
Its deepest point reaches about 100 meters, and its width can reach up to 2 km.
The cause of this crack is soil erosion on the plateau, not an earthquake.
Nevertheless, isn’t it an astonishing sight?