Skaistkalne Sinkholes

The highest prevalence of surface karst forms in the territory of Latvia has been found east of Skaistkalne, it also continues in the territory of Lithuania, where the Biržai Regional Park has been established.
Karst – this is an unusual geological process. When water rinses rocks, voids are formed underground – funnels, furrows, canals, cavities, cracks. As they gradually increase, the day comes when the upper layers of the earth, having lost their foundation, invade the emptiness – it becomes sinkholes.
Although karst process is in a fairly large area around the world, only rarely the most characteristic surface manifestations of this process are observed – holes and lakes. The surroundings of Skaistkalne are one of the unique places in Latvia, where it is possible to observe these transformations of earth.
People have given karst caves their own names – Hay bed, Goat bed, Death bed and other, since there are many stories about horses, goats or apple trees suddenly swallowed by the ground.