Big Tennessee Sinkholes

Tennessee has perhaps millions of sinkholes, most of which are very small features. Based on data analysis from a 2013 sinkhole study (Dunigan/Sutherland 2013) I have listed here some of the largest features by dimension in the state. Below you'll find an interactive map, and a table with this information, and more. Largest Sinkholes by Area Rank Name Area 1 Grassy Cove 3,362.73 acres 2 Mt Vernon sink 1,204.34 acres 3 Sinking Cove 1,114.87 acres 4 Booger Swamp 1,040.74 acres 5 Elijah sink* 868.27 acres 6 Dog Cove 853.20 acres 7 Byler Bottoms 806.31 acres 8 Walnut Grove 724.36 acres 9 Union sink* 662.93 acres 10 Bethel sink* 661.47 acres Largest Sinkholes by Depth Rank Name Depth 1 Big Sink 260' 2 Wolf Cove 242' 3 Icy Cove 206' 4 Whiteoak Sink 199' 5 Unnamed sink* 182' 6 Big Sink 164' 7 Dykes Mountain 155' 8 Buel Hall sink* 152' 9 Round Cove 149' 10 Big Sink 142' Largest Sinkholes by Volume Rank Name Volume 1 Grassy Cove 4,061,967,153 2 Icy Cove 918,252,383 3 Sinking Cove 463,242,303 4 Dog Cove 429,197,113 5 The Big Sink 426,734,493 6 Big Sink 340,585,093 7 Big Sink 335,136,723 8 Sinking Cane Hollow 319,797,263 9 Union sink* 267,670,633 10 Round Cove 26,127,688 ft3 Excluded from these lists is Montlake in Hamilton County. It may fit on the volume or depth list, but I cannot easily get at that information since it is flooded. It is a truly spectacular feature. More about Montlake here.

Name	Coordinates (WGS84)	Area (Acres)	Depth (Ft)	Volume (ft^3)	Perimeter (ft)	Compactness	Thickness	MinElev	MaxElev
Big Sink	36.039613,-85.390357	164	260.43	33,513,671.59	13,376.46	1.37	0.5	1,427.13	1,687.23
Wolf Cove	35.049637,-86.016843	121.15	242.06	19,228,967.68	16,139.71	2.21	0.25	962.68	1,204.42
Icy Cove	36.058645,-85.293733	490.37	205.98	91,825,237.61	36,889.13	3.51	0.2	1,371.70	1,577.35
Whiteoak Sink	35.635743,-83.749339	172.17	199.1	16,431,943.54	26,970.98	4.34	0.13	1,609.17	1,807.94
Unnamed sink*	35.546072,-85.62248	12.91	182.04	998,910.68	4,379.16	1.97	0.37	1,637.70	1,819.42
Big Sink	36.424762,-83.735956	95.26	164.66	10,775,783.37	19,480.25	4.47	0.14	1,162.10	1,326.43
Dykes Mountain	35.517246,-85.65071	11.55	155.8	1,159,045.24	3,539.36	1.86	0.5	1,590.14	1,745.62
Buel Hall sink*	36.453074,-85.336649	26.39	152.19	2,544,769.82	6,238.58	1.98	0.37	1,192.94	1,344.80
Round Cov	36.074993,-85.354436	199.5	149.9	26,127,688.00	18,295.00	1.86	0.33	1,373.66	1,523.23
Big Sink	35.586443,-85.672679	309.66	142.02	34,058,508.79	32,574.10	2.15	0.16	1,095.85	1,237.54
Turkey Cot Cove	35.75857,-85.419588	110.81	141.37	10,977,717.85	15,116.03	2.1	0.27	1,314.30	1,455.34
Grassy Cove	35.837423,-84.927752	3362.73	140	406,196,714.93	127,683.48	3.44	0.11	1,528.00	1,667.00
Little Cove	35.850228,-84.892025	213.52	130	22,732,107.00	24,168.90	3.55	0.2	1,555.00	1,684.00
Pass Cove	35.979505,-85.359774	234.33	118.08	16,824,388.71	37,909.46	2.68	0.09	1,107.66	1,225.41
The Big Sink	35.137725,-85.906803	509.59	110.86	42,673,448.59	54,476.67	4.99	0.09	946.28	1,056.82
Sinking Cane Hollow	36.200275,-85.269992	556.85	106.6	31,979,726.48	92,733.15	7.83	0.04	1,135.86	1,242.14
Sinking Creek	36.333643,-82.300053	296.67	104.3	13,824,354.12	61,606.46	8.89	0.04	1,451.07	1,555.05
Round Cove**	35.013707,-85.993681	215.97	103.98	15,863,366.27	32,579.55	4.73	0.11	912.5	1,016.14
Walker Hollow	36.176813,-85.298605	132.69	99.38	8,145,574.86	24,413.11	6.22	0.12	1,249.02	1,348.08
Sinking Cove	35.03797,-85.973261	1114.87	93.81	46,324,229.60	99,477.60	7.29	0.06	783.59	877.07
Dry Shave	35.52793,-85.722465	204.09	88.89	12,605,837.73	34,374.41	3.34	0.09	1,124.06	1,212.62
Dog Cove	35.870705,-85.358425	853.2	82	42,919,711.15	106,529.88	5.96	0.04	1,231.97	1,313.64
Crabtree Cove**	35.02261,-86.06261	155.5	77.74	9,101,534.76	29,759.92	7.25	0.1	1,230.33	1,307.74
Board Valley	36.041696,-85.375447	508.3	77.08	20,588,337.32	78,039.01	7.2	0.05	1,229.02	1,305.77
Unnamed sink*	36.518118,-87.454714	370.86	62.32	12,164,077.88	37,621.46	2.38	0.14	485.11	547.1
Ebenezer sink*	35.901836,-84.073098	546.41	60.35	16,531,542.50	107,845.92	5.52	0.03	838.37	898.39
Gray Cove	35.02362,-86.084069	239.51	59.04	9,275,866.02	56,580.03	18.85	0.04	944.64	1,003.35
Beech Hollow	35.58921,-85.763029	186.31	58.38	7,947,020.74	29,695.34	4.18	0.12	1,021.39	1,079.45
Union sink*	35.717974,-85.701955	662.93	57.07	26,767,062.69	69,167.57	2.53	0.08	925.62	982.36
Mount Pisgah sink*	35.857046,-85.595231	467.84	52.81	12,905,804.01	46,910.15	3.05	0.12	919.38	971.86
Doyle sink*	35.844634,-85.507111	461.54	49.53	16,115,007.89	69,703.56	4.42	0.05	884.94	934.14
Mitchell Hollow	35.733144,-85.547193	562.54	49.53	14,362,824.48	80,921.95	3.61	0.05	907.9	957.1
Dry Hollow	36.234322,-85.288135	480.46	49.2	14,440,736.32	72,519.75	9.67	0.05	1,098.47	1,147.34
Rickman sink*	36.270051,-85.376914	397.72	45.59	9,725,706.01	57,585.91	3.07	0.07	1,034.51	1,079.78
Mt Vernon sink	35.729982,-85.636409	1204.34	44.94	22,654,366.51	169,226.46	4.28	0.02	917.09	961.7
White Seminary sink*	35.909889,-85.510413	368.94	44.61	9,746,214.19	46,909.05	2.34	0.09	912.5	956.78
Crab Orchard sink*	35.907048,-84.876446	352.65	38	9,084,184.89	31,965.18	3.01	0.19	1,656.00	1,693.00
Countryside sink*	36.183114,-85.439526	475.73	37.72	10,118,641.08	49,248.39	3.24	0.11	1,072.89	1,110.28
Elijah sink*	35.964303,-85.540697	868.27	36.41	11,871,719.30	99,277.87	3.8	0.05	933.49	969.57
Bethel sink*	36.626273,-87.434395	661.47	34.11	8,840,520.21	78,785.17	6.05	0.06	494.62	528.41
Booger Swamp	36.162334,-85.456784	1040.74	32.47	18,435,455.55	73,183.00	2.78	0.11	1,071.90	1,104.05
Byler Bottoms	35.697008,-86.595564	806.31	22.3	9,012,593.33	61,798.44	2.83	0.12	739.64	761.62
Walnut Grove	36.039651,-85.505123	724.36	20.01	11,290,017.30	69,584.08	4.73	0.08	971.86	991.54

* No official place name, named for nearest GNIS feature if nearby.
** Multiple possible names for feature. Made best guess.