Le Trou de David

Until recently one of most interesting natural landmarks in Saint Martin was Le Trou de David (originally – Trou du Diable). Unfortunately this magnificent sinkhole collapsed.

This natural hole formed by a collapse of a large sea cave chamber. Le Trou de David was a hole with nearly vertical walls, with a diameter of some 25 m, some 10 m deep. It was divided from the sea with a narrow wall. There were two natural arches in this wall – one was deep enough to allow swimming in and out of the hole to the sea.

When the sea is rough, water in the hole seems to be boiling – hence the original name of the hole – Trou du Diable (Devil’s Hole).

On the walls of the sinkhole often were sitting large iguanas (Iguana iguana) – an invasive species. Reef outside the sinkhole is very interesting for snorkeling and diving – it has interesting rock formations and abundant sea life.

Nothing is forever. Natural arches at the sea are shortlived landmarks – sooner or later the support of the arches is destabilized by erosion. This happened with Le Trou de David as well – after heavy rains, it collapsed in the time period between November 29 and December 5, 2011.

References

1. Le Trou de David. Les Fruit de Mer. Accessed on November 19, 2012.
2. David’s Hole disappears. The Daily Herald.

Le Trou de David on the map

Location, GPS coordinates:	18.0726 N 63.1189 W
Categories:	Sinkholes, Rock formations, Natural arches
Values:	Geology
Rating:	(1 / 5)
Where is located?	North America, Caribbean, Saint Martin, western part of the island, sea coast between Baie Rouge and Pointe de Bluff
Alternate names:	Marmite du Diable, Trou du Diable (original name)
Depth:	˜ 10 m

Landmarks of Saint Martin

Saint Martin is an overseas collectivity of France. It occupies the northern part of densely inhabited Caribbean island and, in spite of its small area, has diverse interesting landmarks.

Sinkholes

Category includes outstanding sinkholes – large natural depressions or holes, which for most part represent collapsed caves.