On June 3, 1980, a 9-ft-wide (3 m) sinkhole opened on the property of Atlantic Richfield Company and got progressively larger. Within four days, it had become a tourist attraction, with a crater measuring , and as much as deep."W. Texas Sinkhole Still Growing; Some Are Amused, Some Scared", Miami Herald, June 8, 1980, p3 The 1990 United States census set the population of Kermit at 6,875.
On June 3, 1980, a 9-ft-wide (3 m) sinkhole opened on the property of Atlantic Richfield Company and got progressively larger. Within four days, it had become a tourist attraction, with a crater measuring , and as much as deep."W. Texas Sinkhole Still Growing; Some Are Amused, Some Scared", Miami Herald, June 8, 1980, p3 The 1990 United States census set the population of Kermit at 6,875.