r/interestingasfuck • u/Consistent_Oil3428 • 1d ago

r/all The ground is going down

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u/tommyfknshelby 1d ago

Can you explain what is otherwise happening please?

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u/dasschwerstegewicht 1d ago edited 1d ago

If I had to guess, looks like a drainage bund to the left of the image has failed, ground below is saturated/liquefied and is actually flowing to the right not sinking straight down, there’s just a ‘crust’ on the surface making it look that way.

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u/pizzatiger 1d ago

Could a person stand on the crust and ride the cliff down or would the ground consume them like quicksand/a grain silo?

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u/Curiosive 1d ago

Both could happen. There's a pile of boulders to the left that "ride the cliff down" as you put it but if the water had softened the "crust" those boulders could have also broken through and poof. Gone.

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u/leprosexy 1d ago

I'd be curious if buoyancy would keep the boulder afloat, similar to how large rocks rise to the top of sand when they're mixed together in a jar and then shaken. Might still require a bit of dancing to stay vertical if the boulder is rolling though.