What Is the Deepest Hole in the World?
The deepest hole in the world is called The Kola Superdeep Borehole. Led by Russia, its drilling began in 1970 for research purposes. The goal was to discover the core of the Earth, following the failure of the United States to do the same. However, progress was slowed down in 1989 when the drill got caught in rock at a depth of around 12.2 km (about 40,230 feet). In terms of dollars per square foot, this project cost over $100 million. One of the most fascinating details about this expedition was the discovery of small plankton fossils in rocks over two billion years old, located four miles below the surface. The inorganic compounds encapsulated in these “microfossils” constituted roughly 24 extinct species and managed to withstand the intense pressures and temperatures found so deep below the earth. As the drilling progressed, researchers began to notice that the temperature rose more quickly than they had anticipated at depths over 10,000 feet. Temperatures kept rising over the predicted levels; by the time the hole had reached its maximum size, the temperature was a shocking 356 °F, as opposed to the predicted 212 °F. In 1992, drilling was halted because the drill bit could no longer function at such temperatures. Due to a lack of finance, however, the project was abandoned entirely in 2005. The site itself has been abandoned since 2008; the hole was covered up by a metal seal. Although the data generated by the project is still being examined, the Kola Superdeep Borehole has almost been abandoned to date.
What Is the Largest Hole by Natural Causes?
When holes are created by natural causes, it means that they are not the direct result of human activities. Usually, these are created by events in the cosmos or natural disasters on Earth. One such common event is a black hole. Now, what is a black hole? It is a concentration of intense gravity. The force is extremely strong, enough to trap in light or anything that comes in. Black holes are often created when stars die out. The largest known black hole is Ton 618. It is almost 66 billion times as massive as the Sun. Its proximity to Earth is about 18.2 billion light years, so, do not be alarmed. This supermassive black hole is located somewhere between Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices.
What Are the Deepest Man-made Holes?
The first exploration into the earth’s mantle was kick-started by the United States. Prior to being declared too expensive and having funding canceled by Congress, the US hole had reached a depth of 600 feet below the ocean’s surface. Since that was the only thing left from the expedition, they were only able to haul up a few feet of basalt, which effectively cost roughly $40 million in today’s currencies. Russia started competing in 1970. And unlike the Moon landing, Russia outperformed the US in this one. The following 20 years were spent by researchers drilling 40,230 feet into the planet. This hole has a diameter of just nine inches and is referred to as the “Kola superdeep borehole.” Regarding depth, it continues to keep the title of being the world’s biggest hole. After the temperature climbed to 356 degrees Fahrenheit in 1992, drilling was put on hold. In Germany, German researchers launched their “German Continental Deep Drilling Program” in 1990 and started drilling deep in Bavaria to further their investigation of the Earth’s crust. The participants were said to experience temperatures as high as 509 degrees Fahrenheit and made it just under 30,000 feet below the surface. The title of the world’s longest man-made hole was won by Exxon Mobile in eastern Russia in 2011. Although the depth of its borehole is 42,000 feet, the digging does not descend directly. Technically, it can be called the longest hole, but not the deepest.
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