Tiankeng is a term which was coined in October 2001 by Zhu Xuewen from the China Cave Study Association and Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin, to have a name for this exceptional subgroup of dolines. A doline has to be at least 100 m deep and 100 m in diameter to qualify. Some 75 of those huge dolines are known worldwide, 50 of them are located in China. The rest are found in tropical countries like Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Mexico. Tiankeng translates from Chinese as "heavenly pit" or "sky hole" and is the term which is commonly used in Guilin for this huge dolines.
We have only the biggest of all Tiankengs listed from China, despite the abundance of such dolines there. Unfortunately there is little published about them, probably because they are so common, and most publications are in Chinese. However, there are such huge dollines all over the world and we tried to list the most impressive ones, especially those which are of touristic interest.
Name | ⌀max | ⌀min | Depth | Country | Location | kmz | Comment |
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List of famous Tiankengs | |||||||
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626 m | 537 m | 662 m | China | Chongqing | ![]() |
definitely the deepest sinkhole |
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475 m | 420 m | 530 m | Croatia | Dalmatia | ![]() |
less than half visible, bottom half filled with water |
Minyé Sinkhole | 350 m | 350 m | 510 m | Papua New Guinea | New Britain, Nakanaï Mountains | ![]() |
5,421 m long cave at the bottom |
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104 m | 34 m | 473 m | Czech Republic | Olomoucký kraj | ![]() |
vast discoveries in the last years |
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35 m | 35 m | 392 m | Italy | Lazio | ![]() |
deepest water filled sinkhole |
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160 m | 120 m | 383 m | Venezuela | Auyan Tepui | ![]() |
in quartzite |
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305 m | 135 m | 376 m | México | San Luis Potosí | ![]() |
pretty famous with cavers |
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116 m | 116 m | 339 m | México | Tamaulipas | ![]() |
second-deepest water filled sinkhole |
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352 m | 245 m | 314 m | Venezuela | Sarisariñama tepui | ![]() |
in quartzite |
Naré sinkhole | 150 m | 120 m | 310 m | Papua New Guinea | New Britain, Nakanaï Mountains | ![]() |
At the bottom Vaisseau Fantôme river (Flying Dutchman river), L=2,000 m |
Modro Jezero | 700 m | 400 m | 290 m | Croatia | Dalmatia | ![]() |
Neighbour of Crveno Jezero, see there. |
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1,000 m | 750 m | 250 m | Oman | Dhofar Governorate | ![]() |
bowl-like shape but really huge |
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155 m | 110 m | 248 m | Venezuela | Sarisariñama tepui | ![]() |
in quartzite |
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130 m | 90 m | 210 m | Oman | Dhofar Governorate | ![]() |
steep walls |
Velika Dolina | 300 m | 170 m | 155 m | Slovenia | Primorska | ![]() |
The entrance to the
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500 m | 220 m | 150 m | Brazil | Minas Gerais | ![]() |
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490 m | 180 m | 150 m | Brazil | Minas Gerais | ![]() |
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185 m | 145 m | 125 m | Puerto Rico | Río Camuy | ![]() |
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640 m | 380 m | 100 m | Italy | Puglia | ![]() |
the hugest doline you can see in Europe |
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530 m | 400 m | 100 m | Italy | Puglia | ![]() |
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600 m | 300 m | 200 m | China | Yunnan Province | ![]() |
The Daguoquan sinkhole cluster, also called Zhenxiong sinkhole cluster, is a group of six tiankengs in Zhenxiong County. This is the largest with a hamlet inside which lives of farming on the floor. |