A look inside Catwaba Murder Hole, one of 4,100 caves and sinkholes in Virginia

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CATWABA (WSLS10)-- When you hear about sinkholes, often times it's the ones that swallow houses or cars. But there are thousands of sinkholes in Virginia, something the Virginia Cave Board is raising awareness about this week.

There are more than 4,100 wild caves and sinkholes across the state of Virginia. One of the largest ones is right in our backyard. It's called the Catwaba Murder Hole-- and it's more than 230-feet deep. When cavers explore inside, it takes more than three ropes to rappel to the bottom. This is one cave that started as a sinkhole, before the entire upper level caved in thousands of years ago.

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"Sinkholes form in a karst area, where there's a lot of limestone," says David Socky, chairman of the Blue Ridge Grotto. "A long time ago, the water table lowered in these areas. The support that the water supplied caused areas to collapse and create sinkholes."

Many of the sinkholes in Southwest Virginia have been filled with garbage at one point or another, but many of them are cleaned out now. Even years later, some of the sinkholes-- like percolator pit, are still nicknamed because of the garbage that was found inside o them. Percolator pit is a very narrow sinkhole, but just a few years ago it was stuffed full of mattresses, trash and even an old percolator coffee machine-- hence where it got the name.

As part of Virginia Cave Week, organizers are hoping to change the way people think about these natural wonders, because what goes into them can eventually impact our health.

"The trash and garbage in sinkholes is a conduit into the water table," says Socky. "It's a direct conduit. It's not filtered through gravel or sand or anything. It goes through canyons and rivets and right into the water table."

"There is water down there that ends up in our drinking water," adds Marian McConnell, a member of the Virginia Cave Board. "Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not going to impact you."

When exploring these caves and sinkholes, cavers never leave anything inside-- because without sunlight to help the process, nothing is biodegradable on its own.

For more information on Virginia Cave Week, click here.

WSLS10 Photographer, Carter, standing at the mouth of Catawaba Murder Hole