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What is the difference between a sinkhole and a pothole?

A sinkhole is a closed natural depression in the ground surface caused by removal of material below the ground and either collapse or gradual subsidence of the surface into the resulting void.

A pothole is usually a fairly small feature caused by failure of paving materials, usually associated with roads, parking lots, and airports. In the colder parts of the country, potholes become more abundant in late winter and spring because of freeze-thaw damage to pavements. But beware of international terminology: British cavers refer to caves as potholes and call cave exploring "potholing".

There’s also another kind of pothole. Parts of Canada and the central United States are covered by a region of wetlands called prairie potholes that were formed as Pleistocene Epoch glaciers receded around 12,000 years ago. The wetlands formed where water accumulated in small depressions in a landscape that is underlain by low-permeability glacial till. Prairie potholes are NOT collapse features.