Blue Hole NM Collapse?

[Polarorbit]

I heard a rumor today that a wall collapsed at Blue Hole. It supposedly took out one of the training platforms and visibility is zero. Does anyone have more details?

 

[kinoons]

The information site for Santa Rosa has the following…

“BLUE HOLE IS CLOSED UNTILL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO AN EMERGENCY

Hours of Operation

Monday – Friday 8 – 7:00pm

Saturday – Sunday 12-7:00pm ONLY SCUBA DIVERS WILL BE ALLOWED IN WATER FROM 6-12:00pm”

Water Sports & Activities

The Ultimate Summer Playground!

visitsantarosanm.com

Sounds like something is up.

 

[VikingDives]

Yes, there was a collapse of some sort that took out the 25-foot platform (the white bouys).

The viz was 0 feet yesterday, but according to the folks there, a "car-sized" rock fell.

I talked to the people from the city yesterday and I'm heading out there this morning to assess the damage.

Assuming the viz has returned to normal, I'll try to get some pictures.

 

[David Yuen]

Yes, there was a collapse of some sort that took out the 25-foot platform (the white bouys).

The viz was 0 feet yesterday, but according to the folks there, a "car-sized" rock fell.

I talked to the people from the city yesterday and I'm heading out there this morning to assess the damage.

Assuming the viz has returned to normal, I'll try to get some pictures.

Yes please keep us updated. thanks!

 

[WarrenZ]

WOW I have heard that is the most geologically unstable dive site in America guess it may be true.

I have watched the bubbles pop out of the walls there so there is a lot of cracks and passages that we dont normally see.

 

[Ez E]

Didnt even know NM had a blue
hole.

 

[boulderjohn]

The entire area is unstable, filled with sinkholes of various sizes, almost all of them dry. Those sinkholes are testimonies to unstable conditions far below. The rock there is sandstone, and that sandstone must be sitting on top of deeper limestone formations. Those limestone formations assumedly have cave features that collapse from time to time.

One of the biggest nearby water-filled sinkholes is Rock lake, located just west of town. It is about 280 feet deep, and 400-500 feet across. Over the years I have dived it, I have come across places where sections of wall have recently collapsed. The lake is fed by vents in many places. The biggest ones are on top of the debris cone on the east wall, meaning that the water is coming up through many feet of loose rubble. There is a vent near the bottom of the east descent line, at about 180 feet. It goes into the wall, not down into the debris. When I first noticed it, I was sure it was new, because I don't remember seeing it there before.

There are small vents on the very bottom. You can see them in the fall, when the algae bloom dies and the bottom is temporarily blackened by dead algae. When you see light spots in that black, it is from the water seeping up from below.

People who dive Rock Lake park in the grassy are on the east side. One autumn in a particularly dry year, that grassy area was wet, with water seeping up from below. I would not be surprised if someday a group of cars suddenly vanished into a newly enlarged Rock Lake.

 

[Polarorbit]

The entire area is unstable, filled with sinkholes of various sizes, almost all of them dry. Those sinkholes are testimonies to unstable conditions far below. The rock there is sandstone, and that sandstone must be sitting on top of deeper limestone formations. Those limestone formations assumedly have cave features that collapse from time to time.

One of the biggest nearby water-filled sinkholes is Rock lake, located just west of town. It is about 280 feet deep, and 400-500 feet across. Over the years I have dived it, I have come across places where sections of wall have recently collapsed. The lake is fed by vents in many places. The biggest ones are on top of the debris cone on the east wall, meaning that the water is coming up through many feet of loose rubble. There is a vent near the bottom of the east descent line, at about 180 feet. It goes into the wall, not down into the debris. When I first noticed it, I was sure it was new, because I don't remember seeing it there before.

There are small vents on the very bottom. You can see them in the fall, when the algae bloom dies and the bottom is temporarily blackened by dead algae. When you see light spots in that black, it is from the water seeping up from below.

People who dive Rock Lake park in the grassy are on the east side. One autumn in a particularly dry year, that grassy area was wet, with water seeping up from below. I would not be surprised if someday a group of cars suddenly vanished into a newly enlarged Rock Lake.

Except it seems we can no longer access Rock Lake, so I suppose we’re safe from that one.

 

[reddiver970]

The entire area is unstable, filled with sinkholes of various sizes, almost all of them dry. Those sinkholes are testimonies to unstable conditions far below. The rock there is sandstone, and that sandstone must be sitting on top of deeper limestone formations. Those limestone formations assumedly have cave features that collapse from time to time.

One of the biggest nearby water-filled sinkholes is Rock lake, located just west of town. It is about 280 feet deep, and 400-500 feet across. Over the years I have dived it, I have come across places where sections of wall have recently collapsed. The lake is fed by vents in many places. The biggest ones are on top of the debris cone on the east wall, meaning that the water is coming up through many feet of loose rubble. There is a vent near the bottom of the east descent line, at about 180 feet. It goes into the wall, not down into the debris. When I first noticed it, I was sure it was new, because I don't remember seeing it there before.

There are small vents on the very bottom. You can see them in the fall, when the algae bloom dies and the bottom is temporarily blackened by dead algae. When you see light spots in that black, it is from the water seeping up from below.

People who dive Rock Lake park in the grassy are on the east side. One autumn in a particularly dry year, that grassy area was wet, with water seeping up from below. I would not be surprised if someday a group of cars suddenly vanished into a newly enlarged Rock Lake.

I have always wondered if the know exactly what lies below the area where they built the visitors center. We will be at Rock in a few weeks hopefully get a dive in at Blue Hole to.

 

[boulderjohn]

Except it seems we can no longer access Rock Lake, so I suppose we’re safe from that one.

You can if you know the right people.