Giant crater that opened up in May 1981 was 350ft wide and 75ft deep and swallowed an Olympic-sized pool and two streets

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

A picturesque lake now inhabits the site of Florida's most famous sinkhole, a giant crater that opened up in Winter Park in May 1981 and quickly captured the attention of the world.

Barks from her dog Muffin first alerted resident Mae Rose Owens to a rapidly widening gap in her yard, and within hours a decades-old sycamore tree had disappeared into the void roots-first with what she later described as a "ploop" sound.

Her family did not evacuate until the following day, shortly before the hole opened further and took with it her three-bedroom house.

Eventually the sinkhole grew to a width of 350ft and a depth of 75ft, making it "the largest sinkhole event witnessed by man as a result of natural geological reasons or conditions," according to geologist Jim Jammal, then Florida's foremost expert on the phenomenon.

It took with it a car dealership and five Porsches, parts of two separate streets and the town's Olympic-sized swimming pool, with city workers managing to salvage only banks of toilets and sinks from the bathrooms.

The event also became a short-lived tourist attraction, with enterprising traders setting up stalls at the rim selling food, balloons and commemorative "Sinkhole '81" T-shirts to curious spectators.

"It was one of a kind. There were thousands of people watching the thing," Jammal said. TV crews came from across the nation to film the sinkhole and their pictures were broadcast worldwide.

Once engineers determined that the hole had finished growing, workers set about filling it in with dirt and concrete, after cranes had lifted out the Porsche cars, a camper van and the Owens residence.

The stabilised sinkhole was eventually landscaped into a giant pond, renamed Lake Rose in honour of Owens, who died in 2005.

The episode led to the creation of a research institute at the University of Central Florida to investigate the causes and predictability of sinkholes, work now conducted largely by the Florida Geological Survey that maps events statewide.