The World's Deepest Hole
How will you be celebrating on May 24, the 44th anniversary of when drilling of the world's deepest hole began?
Until 1970, geologists could only theorize about the composition of
the earth's crust. That year, Soviet scientists engaged in a
subterranean version of the Space Race, and went all-out to beat the USA
in a journey to the center of the earth.
While American researchers faltered with Project Mohole, a dig off
the coast of Mexico that ran out of funding in 1966, their Russian
counterparts took a more determined approach. From 1970 to 1994 their
drill on the Kola Peninsula burrowed through layers of rock, reaching an
ultimate depth of 7.5 miles. (The distance to the center of the earth
is around 3,950 miles, but the continental crust is a mere 22 miles
thick.)
The most intriguing discovery made by the Kola Superdeep Borehole
researchers was the detection of microscopic plankton fossils four
miles beneath the surface of the earth. Usually fossils can be found in
limestone and silica deposits, but these "microfossils" were encased in
organic compounds that remained surprisingly intact despite the extreme
pressures and temperatures of the surrounding rock.
Drilling at Kola stopped in the early 1990s when scientists
encountered prohibitively high temperatures. The Superdeep Borehole is
still the superdeepest human-made hole on the planet. You can visit the
now-abandoned site, but unfortunately you won't be able to peer into the
fathomless abyss — there's a hefty metal cap covering the hole. The
Kola Core Repository in the nearby town of Zapolyarny displays rock
samples obtained during the drilling operation.
Visit Atlas Obscura for more on the Kola Superdeep Borehole.
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