Two Large Sinkholes Near Wink Are Still Growing

On June 3, 1980, the ground near Wink gave way without warning. Within days the hole was about 360 feet wide and 110 feet deep. That one's Wink Sink 1. Wink Sink 2 opened about a mile away on May 21, 2002, and has spread to roughly 600 to 800 feet across. Both collapsed because underground salt beds dissolved away, and an old oil well that let water down to the salt sped the whole thing along.

The Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin has watched this ground for decades, tracking it with satellites, GPS, and surveys on foot. The two visible craters aren't the whole story: the surveys show a wider zone around the sinks that is quietly settling year after year. Anyone buying acreage, putting up a building, or insuring property near Wink should ask what the rock and salt are doing under that specific spot, because the answer is not the same a mile in either direction. The Bureau keeps its measurements and maps current.