Sinkholes In JAX or Not

I'd heard about the Florida sinkholes before. When my wife first wanted to drag me here several years ago, I told her I didn't want to disappear forever down a sinkhole, even if there is some potential poetry to that way of going. When I saw a report about sinkholes in Ocala, and it was referred to as Sinkhole Alley, I decided to see if Jacksonville has a sinking feeling.


What I learned is that many other parts of the state have many more sinkholes, but the nature of the sinkholes in Jax mean that we might have something huge and super-deep when it does happen. Something about rock being 200 feet down, which I assume is how far I'd fall if swallowed up.

Sinkholes in Duval, while large and deep, are rare. That doesn't mean one won't swallow up your house with you inside, but if you're looking to move to an area with more sinkholes, you'd have to move to Sinkhole Alley, which is basically Tallahassee down to Tampa, across to Orlando, and up to Lake City. While I've read that not all of the reports in these areas are legitimate, it's where the conditions are (generally) right and the reports have been made. Ocala is smack in the middle of this zone.

Here are the sinkholes that have occurred in Jacksonville, at least up until the USF study in 2008. I found one in 2013 in Jax that swallowed a Smart Car, which seems like it might be ironic in some way. I can only seem to embed two maps in Blogger, which are the biggest reported sinkholes in Jacksonville.






Date of Occurrence: September 12, 2005; 200+ feet wide



Date of Occurrence: May 2, 2005; 200+ feet wide


Other ones in the area were smaller, mostly 10 ft or smaller:

Marietta Wilson Blvd At Kenwood Rd Jacksonville , Fl 32210

Longitude: -81.784722 Date of Occurrence: September 21, 2001

Latitude: 30.269444

Arlington 9849 Gate Parkway Jacksonville , Fl 32246

Longitude: -81.535556 Date of Occurrence: February 5, 2004

Latitude: 30.250556

Jacksonville 4125 Alhambra Dr. W Jacksonville , Fl 32207

Longitude: -81.662500 Date of Occurrence: August 12, 1985

Latitude: 30.283333

Mayport F-40 Mayport , Fl

Longitude: -81.430239 Date of Occurrence: May 30, 1990

Latitude: 30.393793

East Port F-39 Jacksonville , Fl 32226

Longitude: -81.551389 Date of Occurrence: October, 10, 1984

Latitude: 30.416667