Hawiyyat Najm ( ar, هوية نجم), known as Bimmah Sinkhole in English, is a water-filled depression, structurally a
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
, in the limestone of eastern
Muscat Governorate
Muscat ( ar, محافظة مسقط) is a Governorates of Oman, governorate of the Oman, Sultanate of Oman. Its provincial capital is Muscat City, which is the largest city and only metropolis of Oman. Muscat Governorate, commonly referred to as ...
in the
Sultanate of Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
, very close to the Al Sharqiyah region just off the highway to Sur, few kilometers before Tiwi.
Location
To preserve the sinkhole, the local municipality developed a fenced and toilet-equipped park, Hawiyat Najm Park, around it, along with a stairway leading down to the hole.
Geology
A lake of turquoise waters, it is 50 m by 70 m wide and approximately 20 m deep. It is only about 600 m away from the sea, between the coastal towns of
Ḑibāb and
Bamah (Bimmah). The sinkhole was formed by a collapse of the surface layer due to dissolution of the underlying limestone.
However, locals used to believe this sinkhole in the shape of a water
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
was created by a
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
, hence the Arabic name ''
Hawiyyat Najm'' which means "the deep well of the (falling) star".
Bimmah Sinkhole ranges in depth from only a few feet to over 300+ feet in the deepest part.
Gallery
File:Oman2-056 (8479895991).jpg, Bimmah Sinkhole
File:Oman2-059 (8480995570).jpg, Inside the Bimmah Sinkhole
Notes and references
{{commonscat, Hawiyat Najm
Sinkholes of Asia
Landforms of Oman
Muscat Governorate