Potholing can also be the sport of exploring vertical caves as a synonym of caving.

In 1995 Fidel Castro said he would not vote for Rudolph Giuliani for Mayor of New York City because of the large potholes.^[1] In 2008 potholes were still seen, such as this one on Second Avenue.

The city of Los Angeles is famous for its large potholes.

A pothole (sometimes called kettle and known in parts of the Western United States as a chuckhole) is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole. Most potholes are formed due to fatigue of the pavement surface. As fatigue cracks develop they typically interlock in a pattern known as "alligator cracking". The chunks of pavement between fatigue cracks are worked loose and may eventually be picked out of the surface by continued wheel loads, thus forming a pothole. The formation of potholes is exacerbated by cold temperatures, as water expands when it freezes and puts more stress on cracked pavement. Once a pothole forms, it grows through continued removal of broken chunks of pavement. If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water 'washes away' loose particles of road surface as vehicles pass. In temperate climates, potholes tend to form most often during spring months when the subgrade is weak due to high moisture content. However, potholes are a frequent occurrence anywhere in the world, including in the tropics.

Potholes can grow to feet in width, though they usually only become a few inches deep, at most. If they become large enough, damage to tires and vehicle suspensions occurs.

[edit] Other uses

Pothole (northern Britain) is also a term for a deep cave;^[2] from this sense, the derivation potholing is a synonym for caving and a potholer is a caver.

Pothole (or kettle-hole) is also a term for a formation in rivers caused by a whirlpool eroding a hole into rock. The abrasion is mainly caused by the circular motion of small sediments such as small stones in the river. The interiors of potholes tend to be smooth and regular, unlike a plunge pool. An example is the large pothole found in Archbald, Pennsylvania in Archbald Pothole State Park.

In the northern Great Plains of North America, wetlands formed in glacial kettles are known as prairie potholes.^[3]

The Pothole is a well known sport fishing location in the tailwaters below Powersite Dam in southwest Missouri. It is the uppermost portion of Bull Shoals Lake.

"The holes in our roads" story from the Daily Mail's 7 January 1967 edition reported that there were 4,000 potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire.^[4] That story was mentioned in The Beatles's song A Day in the Life.^[5]

[edit] See also

• Big Apple Pothole and Sidewalk Protection Committee
• Giants kettle
• Slough (wetland)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up pothole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Minnesota Department of Transportation - A Recipe for Potholes
• All potholes can be reported at seeclickfix.com on the map.

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