Tag:sinkhole=pit

A pit is a simple hole, opened in the ground, which may present a waterbody at any depth. This description includes cenotes, whose waterbody is often larger than the orifice in the ground.

A sinkhole is a pit when the downward orifice is the only feature, i.e. there is no water flow and it is not filled with debris, even partly; if the sinkhole is known to be a cave entrance, map it as natural=cave_entrance in lieu of natural=sinkhole in order to reflect that the cave entrance is a pit, but keep it also tagged sinkhole=pit to reflect its dual nature. If the sinkhole is a cenote, map the underground waterbody as it is, with natural=water+layer=-1+whatever.

Such sinkholes can also be the consequence of mining activities, like cave-ins. If the pit appeared because of human activities, use anthropogenic=yes; if the cause is known, for example a mine whose entrance is mapped, add the pit to a relation:site also encompassing the mine entrance. See sinkhole=* for additional informations.

Example

The  Cave of Swallows, a pit in Mexico, would be an area tagged this way:

natural=sinkhole
sinkhole=pit
name=Cave of Swallows
name:es=Sótano de las Golondrinas
depth=370

See also

• sinkhole=*, especially for details on the link between karst features and how to map it.
• name=*
• depth=*