Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 24 May 1970
- This hole is called "Kola Superdeep Borehole" (Кольская сверхглубокая скважина) and is 12,262 meters deep. It is the deepest point underground the Earth reached by mankind to this date.
On this day the drilling of the deepest hole that humans have ever made began in Soviet Union.
This hole is called “Kola Superdeep Borehole” (Кольская сверхглубокая скважина) and is 12,262 meters deep. It is the lowest point underground the Earth reached by mankind to this date.
The hole is located on the Kola Peninsula in the north of Russia (within the Arctic Circle). Indeed, it is interesting that “Kola Superdeep Borehole” is located only 15 kilometers from the Norwegian border.
The purpose of this drilling was scientific research. Specifically, to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust. Indeed, target depth was 15,000 m deep, but when they reached 12,262 m, the temperature at that depth has already reached 180 degrees Celsius, so it was assumed that it would grow to 300 degrees at 15,000 m.
The project was in the meantime abandoned and buildings in ruins are still around the site.
