Suffosion is one of the two
geological processes by which
subsidence sinkholes or dolines are formed, the other being due to collapse of an underlying
cave or void, with most sinkholes formed by the suffosion process. Suffosion sinkholes are normally associated with
karst topography although they may form in other types of rock including
chalk,
gypsum and
basalt. In the karst of the UK's
Yorkshire Dales, numerous surface depressions known locally as "shakeholes", are the result of
glacial till washing into fissures in the underlying limestone.
