* * * * *
Devil's Millhopper
> The Devil's Millhopper is a large sinkhole, 117 feet deep and about 500
> feet across. The name comes from the shape of the hole, resembling the
> funnels used in mills to feed the grain into the millstone, and the fact
> that numermous bones and skeletons of animals have been found along the
> sides and bottom, leading many people to think that the Devil opened up a
> hole to suck all down to Hell.
>
> Other than that, that's it.
>
The Devil's Millhopper is located in northern Gainsville and as haunts go,
there are none. But as a nature walk, it's impressive. There's a boardwalk
leading down about 100 feet to the bottom and halfway across. It's a large
deep bowl like formation.
Sinkholes are caused by rainwater seeping through the ground, where it
filters through old rotten vegetation where it turns into a very weak acid.
The bedrock of Florida is primarily limestone, a rather porus rock that
reacts with acid readily. The limestone is eaten away, leaving a large cavity
underground that will eventually collapse under the weight of the ground
above.
And that's what happened with the Devil's Millhopper. The primary sink hole
was made approximately 15,000 years ago, but recent openings have happened in
the last millenium, one possibly a hundred years ago.
Email author at
[email protected]
