The deepest holes on earth. The most terrible big holes in the ground. Hole in the ground Yamal funnel Giant Hole in the ground Yamal Russia
Since we already had it today, let’s continue it a little. Do you think what is in the photograph is real or drawn? Many of my friends already know the answer to this question, but I just came across this photo again and I once again decided to dot all the i’s and at the same time make a note about it in my blog.
Let's jump under the cut and answer all the questions...
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Many on the Internet doubted that this was true. They tried to appeal to the very smooth edges of this hole, to the suspicious regular circle, to insufficiently correct transitions of the earth into the darkness of the depths, etc. But everything in the photographs was in reality.
A hole of almost perfect circular shape with a diameter of about 20 meters and 30 meters deep. It was formed in July 2010 in one of the districts of Guatemala City.
In the place where you see a huge crater, the bottom of which is not visible even from a helicopter, there once stood a three-story garment factory building.
The mysterious crater was cordoned off by police, and geologists were working on the site. Experts clearly cannot understand the cause of the funnel. It is worth noting that a little more than three years ago, literally two kilometers from this place, an almost similar “black hole” had already formed in the ground. However, one of the reasons could be tropical storm Agatha. Such floods and landslides have not been seen in this region for the last 60 years. The disaster destroyed roads and bridges, rivers overflowed their banks, and many areas were cut off from the outside world.
“I can tell you what was not the reason: it is not the fault of geology and it was not caused by an earthquake. This is all we know for now and we will be forced to go inside,” said a geophysical engineer from the National Management Agency in emergency situations David Monterroso.
Meanwhile, scientists agree that the round shape of the funnel suggests the presence of a karst cavity underneath. While geologists are puzzling over the reasons for the appearance of the “crater,” many local residents, whose houses are located in close proximity to the “black hole,” are already trying to change their homes.
It is not clear why there is no footage of the study of this funnel on the Internet, well, it wouldn’t be interesting for anyone to go down there with a camera. Or at least lower a camera with a spotlight on a cable and photograph what is there at depth.
This is the same hurricane that could have caused this crater to appear.
In seven days, residents of Guatemala and neighboring Honduras and El Salvador had to deal with a volcanic eruption spewing tons of ash, a powerful tropical storm, floods and landslides, and a terrifying black hole that swallowed a small factory and an intersection in Guatemala City. The Pacaya volcano began spewing lava and rocks on Thursday, May 27, blanketing Guatemala in ash that forced the closure of the airport. One television reporter, who was at that moment near the volcano, died. Two days later, as Guatemalans were cleaning up the ashes, Tropical Storm Agatha hit the region, bringing with it floods and landslides that washed away bridges, filled villages with mud and caused a giant hole to form in the center of Guatemala's capital.
A woman stands in the mud after a landslide caused by Hurricane Agatha in Amatitlán's El Pedregal district on May 31. On Monday, stunned Hurricane Agatha victims and rescue workers began finding bodies in the mud. In total, according to the latest data, 179 people have died in Central America. (REUTERS/Daniel LeClair)
Lava flows from the Pacaya volcano, near the capital of Guatemala, on May 28. Pacaya began to erupt on Thursday, May 27, killing journalist Anibal Archila, who was reporting for local TV channel Noti7. (REUTERS/Daniel LeClair)
Cameraman Byron Sesaida gives his side of the story after he was rescued from the Pacaya volcano on May 27. Byron worked with journalist Anibal Archila, who died while filming a program about a volcanic eruption for the Noti7 television channel. (REUTERS/Daniel LeClair)
A man displays volcanic ash cleared from his car on May 27 in Villa Nueva, after a powerful eruption of the Pacaya volcano, 50 km south of Guatemala. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Villagers came out of their homes fearing further eruptions from the Pacaya volcano in Las Calderas, Guatemala. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Two men watch a huge wave on May 29 at the port of San Jose, 110 km south of Quatemala. The season's first tropical storm, named Agatha, hit the country, bringing with it heavy rainfall, causing landslides and flooding. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
People climb onto a bridge after part of it was washed away following Hurricane Agatha in Barberene on May 30. (REUTERS/Daniel LeClair)
An Amatitlán resident and Asus employee dumps dirt he removed from his home after the Mico River overflowed its banks on June 1. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
A woman crosses a road flooded with muddy water after the Mico River overflows its banks in Amatitlan on June 11. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
People inspect a car destroyed by a landslide in the Palin region, Escuintla department, Guatemala. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Maria del Carmen de Ramirez watched as the crater was born. She was at home when the fatal downpour began - by the way, meteorologists say that more than 30 centimeters of rain fell in 30 hours, and she barely managed to escape from her home. “I saw through the window how the garment factory next door had disappeared,” she says. “She just disappeared.” Maria del Carmen says it's a miracle that no factory workers were injured: working hours ended exactly an hour before the storm. And the watchman, who is usually on duty at night, took the day off to visit relatives. “During the day, hundreds of students came to the factory to get their uniforms,” she says. “If the rain had started a few hours earlier, it would have turned into a big tragedy.”
Residents of the surrounding houses are still afraid to return. Those who have not left their homes live in constant fear that their house could in an instant end up at the bottom of a pit. “At night I wake up every ten minutes,” says one local resident. “I’m frightened by every rustle - it seems to me that it’s rain drumming on the roof.”
Experts were never able to determine the exact cause of the hole. Geologists say that the porous structure of the limestone - the main component of the soil in Ciudad Nueva - received rainwater year after year, gradually enlarging the holes. And the rain worked as a catalyst. The management of a local cement plant proposed mixing volcanic ash from the Pacaya volcano, which had erupted four days earlier, with cement and filling the crater with the resulting mass. Experts estimate that it will take 12 to 18 months to fill the well.
It should be noted that something similar has already happened in Guatemala. In February 2007, a similar failure arose in the same city, but 100 meters deep. The distance between the two failures is several kilometers. One can only imagine how the people living in this area of Guatemala feel.
By the way, that hole...
By the way, the Guatemalan sinkhole is far from the only one in the world. More than twenty years ago, a similar hole suddenly appeared in Winter Park in Florida - its depth exceeded 98 meters. In 1994, a huge well with smooth edges appeared in Mulberry, the same state of Florida, at the site of industrial waste dumping. In April this year, ten craters appeared one after another in the Chinese city of Yongbin, Sichuan Province. The depth of the largest hole was 80 meters
There was room for creativity here for photoshoppers too!
Well, in general, if you are confused by an exactly round hole, then here are other similar, albeit not so huge, examples.
A beautiful crater on the highway near the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, December 1, 2010.
Outside the small town of Schmalkalden, in the German state of Thuringia, a huge crater suddenly formed. Local residents woke up in the middle of the night to the roar of car sirens. It turned out that a car had fallen into a hole 40 meters wide and 25 meters deep, and it was only by luck that no one was hurt.
Police and rescue services immediately arrived at the scene. who cordoned off a giant crater. Residents of nearby houses were urgently evacuated.
“The ground literally opened up under our feet at about three o’clock in the morning. If this had happened during the day, it is unlikely that casualties would have been avoided. We have already announced that until the causes of the natural disaster are fully clarified, people will have to temporarily leave the city. Local authorities are ready to provide them with shelter,” the police said. Bild writes about this.
A helicopter was brought in to survey the area, which, with the help of detailed photography, will allow us to determine the real size of the crater. According to preliminary data, the collapse of the soil could have occurred due to the fact that intensive salt mining was once carried out here. Probably, groundwater gave impetus to the formation of a dangerous landslide.
In the city of Berezniki in 2007, a giant sinkhole formed on the territory of one of the enterprises: 15 meters deep and an area of two and a half thousand square meters. The ground collapse occurred in an industrial area where salt mines are located underground. In dangerous proximity there is a salt factory and a local thermal power plant. Just a kilometer away are residential buildings.
On November 25, 2003, in the center of Lisbon (Portugal), a parked bus suddenly began to go underground. The reason for this was a deep hole that formed in the roadway.
Another hole on the road in Changchun city in Jilin province, May 29, 2011. A truck went underground.
This hole in the Earth was formed in June 2010 in Hunan province, its dimensions are: diameter - 150 meters, depth - 50 meters. The reasons for its appearance are unclear.
On September 7, 2008, a large sinkhole (15 meters in diameter and 5 meters deep) appeared in the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.
Among the amazing natural phenomena we can certainly include the periodically opening up in different places. globe holes.
1.Kimberlite pipe "Mir" (Mir diamond pipe), Yakutia.
The Mir kimberlite pipe is a quarry located in the city of Mirny, Yakutia. The quarry has a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km, and is one of the largest quarries in the world. Mining of diamond-bearing kimberlite ore ceased in June 2001. Currently, an underground mine of the same name is being built on board the quarry to develop the remaining sub-quarry reserves, the extraction of which by open-pit mining is unprofitable.
The world's largest diamond quarry is amazing.
2.Kimberlite pipe "Big Hole", South Africa.
The Big Hole is a huge inactive diamond mine in the city of Kimberley (South Africa). It is believed that this is the largest quarry developed by people without the use of technology. Currently it is the main attraction of the city of Kimberley.
From 1866 to 1914, approximately 50,000 miners dug the mine using picks and shovels, producing 2,722 tons of diamonds (14.5 million carats). During the development of the quarry, 22.5 million tons of soil were extracted. It was here that such famous diamonds as "De Beers" (428.5 carats), bluish-white "Porter-Rhodes" (150 carats), orange-yellow " Tiffany" (128.5 carats). Currently, this diamond deposit has been exhausted. The area of the “Big Hole” is 17 hectares. Its diameter is 1.6 km. The hole was dug to a depth of 240 meters, but was then filled with waste rock to a depth of 215 meters, currently the bottom of the hole is filled with water, its depth is 40 meters.
At the site of the mine previously (about 70 - 130 million years ago) there was a volcanic crater. Almost a hundred years ago - in 1914, development in the “Big Hole” was stopped, but the gaping crater of the pipe remains to this day and now serves only as a bait for tourists, serving as a museum. And... it starts to create problems. In particular, there was a serious danger of collapse not only of its edges, but also of the roads built in its immediate vicinity. South African road services have long banned the passage of heavy freight vehicles in these places, and now they strongly recommend that all other drivers avoid driving along Bultfontein Road in the Big Hole area. The authorities are going to completely block the dangerous section of the road. And the world's largest diamond company, De Beers, which owned this mine since 1888, did not find anything better than to get rid of it by putting it up for sale.
3. Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah.
The largest active open-pit mine in the world, copper mining began in 1863 and is still ongoing. About a kilometer deep and three and a half kilometers wide.
It is the world's largest anthropogenic formation (excavated by humans). It is a mine whose development is carried out using an open pit method.
As of 2008, it measures 0.75 miles (1.2 km) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covers an area of 1,900 acres (7.7 sq. km).
The ore was first discovered in 1850, and quarrying began in 1863, which continues to this day.
Currently, the quarry employs 1,400 people who extract 450,000 tons (408 thousand tons) of rock daily. The ore is loaded into 64 large dump trucks, which are capable of transporting 231 tons of ore, these trucks cost about $3 million each.
4. Diavik Quarry, Canada. Diamonds are mined.
The Canadian Diavik quarry is perhaps one of the youngest (in terms of development) diamond kimberlite pipes. It was first explored only in 1992, the infrastructure was created by 2001, and diamond mining began in January 2003. The mine is expected to last from 16 to 22 years.
The place where it emerges from the surface of the earth is unique in itself. Firstly, this is not one, but three pipes formed on the island of Las de Gras, approximately 220 km south of the Arctic Circle, off the coast of Canada. Since the hole is huge, and the island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is small, only 20 km²
and in a short time, the Diavik diamond mine became one of the most important components of the Canadian economy. Up to 8 million carats (1,600 kg) of diamonds are mined from this deposit per year. An airfield was built on one of its neighboring islands, capable of receiving even huge Boeings. In June 2007, a consortium of seven mining companies announced their intention to sponsor environmental studies and begin construction of a major port on Canada's North Shore to accommodate cargo ships of up to 25,000 tons, as well as a 211 km access road that would connect the port to the consortium's plants. . This means that the hole in the ocean will grow and deepen.
5. Great Blue Hole, Belize.
The world-famous Great Blue Hole is the main attraction of picturesque, ecologically perfectly clean Belize (formerly British Honduras) - a state in Central America, on the Yucatan Peninsula. No, this time it is not a kimberlite pipe. It is not diamonds that are “mined” from it, but tourists - diving enthusiasts from all over the world, thanks to which it feeds the country no worse than a diamond pipe. Probably, it would be better to call it not “Blue Hole”, but “Blue Dream”, since this can only be seen in dreams or in a dream. This is a true masterpiece, a miracle of nature - a perfectly round, twilight blue spot in the middle Caribbean Sea, surrounded by a lace bib of the Lighthouse Reef atol.
View from space!
Width 400 meters, depth 145 - 160 meters.
It’s like they’re swimming over an abyss...
6. Drainage hole in the reservoir of the Monticello Dam.
A large man-made hole is located in Northern California, USA. But this is not just a hole. The drainage hole in the Monticello Dam reservoir is the largest spillway in the world! It was built about 55 years ago. This funnel-shaped exit is simply irreplaceable here. It allows you to quickly discharge excess water from the tank when its level exceeds the permissible limit. A kind of safety valve.
Visually, the funnel looks like a giant concrete pipe. It is capable of passing through itself as much as 1370 cubic meters per second. m of water! The depth of this hole is about 21 m. From top to bottom it has the shape of a cone, the diameter of which at the top reaches almost 22 m, and at the bottom it narrows to 9 m and comes out on the other side of the dam, removing excess water when the reservoir overflows. The distance from the pipe to the exit point, which is located slightly to the south, is approximately 700 feet (about 200 m).
7. Karst sinkhole in Guatemala.
A giant funnel with a depth of 150 and a diameter of 20 meters. Caused by groundwater and rain. During the formation of the sinkhole, several people died and a dozen houses were destroyed. According to local residents, from about the beginning of February, soil movements were felt in the area of the future tragedy, and a muffled rumble was heard from underground.
These are the holes!
Rating: +44 Article author: Soul Views: 425509The recent discovery of a third hole in Siberia has puzzled many scientists, excited conspiracy theorists, and given ordinary people a new look at the stability of the earth beneath our feet. The surface of the Earth is riddled with holes: some under water, some on the ground, and some generally look like doors to the other world.
Just recently, three strange holes were found in Siberia. The first, 50-100 meters in diameter, was discovered at the bottom of the lake. The second hole, a few kilometers from the first, was only 15 meters wide. The third hole, accidentally found by the reindeer herders, turned out to be an almost perfect cone-shaped hole about 4 meters wide and 60-100 meters deep.
The ring of debris and dirt around each hole indicates that the massive holes were made by forces that came from within the Earth and burst forth. Of course, interesting theories were born. Some believe that the appearance of the holes is associated with gas development in this region, but the holes are so far from the gas pipelines that scientists have rejected the idea. Other theories include stray missiles, pranksters and, of course, extraterrestrial invasion.
The real reason may be more mundane, but no less strange. One working theory about the holes is that they are a kind of reverse funnel. In this case, the holes were caused by underground destruction caused by thawing permafrost. They then filled with natural gas, and when the pressure became too great, dirt and debris burst into the air instead of falling underground.
According to local residents, the holes are far from new, and scientists, in principle, admit this possibility, looking at the vegetation around them - they could have been there for several years. The second hole discovered is lovingly referred to as the "end of the world" and was allegedly observed by local residents back in September 2013. Witness accounts vary: some say they saw something falling from the sky, others say there was an explosion on the ground.
Kola superdeep well
Not all holes in the earth's crust formed from natural or unknown causes. From 1970 to 1994, Russian geologists dug the biggest hole on Earth imaginable in the name of science. The result was the Kola superdeep well, which eventually reached a depth of 12 kilometers.
Along the way, scientists discovered a number of interesting things. Digging a tunnel through stone is like digging through history. Scientists have found the remains of life that existed on the surface two billion years ago. At an impressive depth of 6,700 meters, biologists discovered tiny plankton fossils. While it was expected that many different types of rock would be found on the way down, it is incredible how the fragile organic matter was preserved under enormous pressure for thousands of years.
Drilling through untouched rock proved difficult. Stone samples pulled out from an area of high pressure and temperature became deformed after being exposed to the outside. The pressure and temperature also rose much higher than expected. By the time it reached 10,000 meters, the temperature had soared to 180 degrees Celsius.
Unfortunately, drilling stopped when it became impossible to combat the heat. The hole is still there, near the town of Zapolyarny, but covered with a metal cover.
The German continental deep drilling program and the pulse of the Earth
In 1994, drilling of a German ultra-deep well, originally conceived as one of the most ambitious geophysical projects, was stopped. The goal of the project is to allow scientists to study effects such as the effects of pressure on rocks, the presence of anomalies in the Earth's crust, the structure of the crust and how it was subjected to heat and pressure. The $350 million project left Windischeschenbach with a hole 9,100 meters deep and a temperature of 265 degrees Celsius.
Among the various scientific experiments, there was one unusual one: the Dutch artist Lotte Geeven wanted to know what the planet sounds like. Although scientists told her that the planet was silent, Geeven insisted on her own. She lowered the geophone into the hole to record ultrasonic waves beyond the hearing capabilities of the human ear. After converting the data on the computer into frequencies that can be heard, Lotte heard the sounds of the Earth. It was like the sound of a thunderstorm in the distance, like a terrifying heartbeat.
Dead Sea sinkholes
No one knows exactly how many holes have appeared around the Dead Sea, but it is believed that about 2,500 have appeared since 1970, and about 1,000 in the last 15 years alone. Like the holes in Siberia, these holes are signs of environmental change.
The Dead Sea is fed by the Jordan River, and every year less and less water flows into it. The sea itself is now three times smaller than it was in the 1960s, and the drainage of the reservoir has caused sinkholes, along with the demise of the resorts and hotels that once flourished along the shores. When salty water The sea seeps through the ground and is met by fresh water. When this fresh water penetrates the salty soil, most of the salt dissolves. The earth weakens and begins to collapse.
The Dead Sea has always been in a state of change. It once connected with the Sea of Galilee, but this connection dried up about 18 thousand years ago. Nowadays, change is more often driven by people's actions. Water that once flowed into the sea in a state of delicate equilibrium is now being diverted throughout Jordan and Syria, with the sea receiving only 10 percent of the water it needs to sustain it.
At one time, this sea was a very popular place for those who made religious pilgrimages or wanted to be healed in the mystical waters of the sea. Now you can more often see signs warning about the danger of spontaneously occurring sinkholes. But on the bright side, if you get swallowed by a sinkhole, it will be named after you.
The deepest blue hole (as holes located underwater are called) is Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas. At 202 meters deep, this blue hole is almost twice as deep as other blue holes, making it a favorite spot for professional divers.
In 2010, William Trubridge set a record for diving 101 meters into the hole without external oxygen or other equipment. A Brooklyn diver died trying to break this record in 2013 after being underwater for more than three and a half minutes, surfacing and then losing consciousness. Every year, more than 30 divers meet at this blue hole to compete in various competitions as part of the Vertical Blue event.
Although the hole attracts adventurers from all over the world, those who live near Dean's Blue Hole try to stay away from it. According to legend, this hole was dug by the devil, and he is still there, snatching people who dare to dive.
Randomly appearing holes in Mount Baldy
In 2013, a six-year-old boy was exploring the sand dunes of Mount Baldy in Indiana Dunes National Park when he was swallowed by a sinkhole that suddenly appeared below him. The boy was rescued after a three-hour ordeal in which he was buried under three meters of sand. Since then, other sinkholes have appeared.
Geologists cannot explain the phenomena of Mount Baldy. Since the landscape is sand, which does not create air pockets, none of the conditions necessary for the formation of sinkholes are met. When a sinkhole appears, it fills with sand throughout the day. The use of underground radar did not reveal any evidence.
A year after the first sinkhole, they not only continued to appear, but began to appear with such frequency that the park was closed. In an attempt to stabilize the sand dunes, experts have planted grasses in the hope that their root systems will stop erosion and land shifting. Some scientists believe that the instability of sand dunes may have something to do with their legendary history, which, among others, includes the story of supplying huge amounts of sand to create Mason jars.
The Devil's Sinkhole is a massive underground chamber located in Edwards, Texas. The 15 meter wide hole leads to a 106 meter deep cavern, which now plays a unique ecological role, being home to one of the largest known colonies Mexican free-tailed bats. Visitors, who of course cannot enter the cave, can see more than three million bats flying out of it every night during the summer months.
The Andros Black Hole, located on South Andros Island in the Bahamas, has a completely different color from other holes in the region. It is not completely black, but dark purple. The reason is that at a depth of 18 meters there is a thick, toxic layer of bacteria floating between the oxygenated top and the almost oxygen-free bottom of the funnel.
The island itself is inhospitable, mostly consisting of mud, so it is generally impossible to reach the black hole of Andros without a helicopter and special equipment. It was first explored by scientist and diver Steffi Schwabe. She was the first to cross the curdled ink layer of bacteria. At the bottom there was a layer of clear water and another purple layer that looked like jelly.
Strange layers of water have very high level toxic hydrogen sulfide. They also contain bacteria that not only thrive between water levels, but have maintained water conditions for the last 3.5 billion years.
Son Doong Cave
While technically a cave system, Shondong is also accessible through several large openings on the Earth's surface. It was first found in 2009 after one of the holes was discovered by a local farmer. The cave system was so thoroughly buried in the jungle that it was pure luck that anyone found it at all. When members of the British Caving Association entered the hole, they discovered something completely indescribable.
The cave was declared to be the largest in the world and was extremely difficult to explore. It appeared somewhere between two and five million years ago, carved into limestone by an underground river. In some places, erosion reached so close to the surface that parts of the cave roof collapsed, creating even more holes. These holes let through enough sunlight so that the jungle begins to grow in the cave. In addition, the cave has a 60-meter calcite wall, an underground river and waterfalls, as well as stalagmites and stalactites that have grown up to 80 meters in length.
This cave jungle is also home to an impressive array of wildlife, including poisonous centipedes and whitefish. Some large chambers can fit entire neighborhoods along with skyscrapers; Bamboo forests and giant pearls can be found there. The very fact that an entire lost world was discovered only in 2009 reminds us, the inhabitants of Earth, that the planet is far from being fully explored.
Based on materials from listverse.com
Kimberlite pipe "Big Hole" (South Africa). The largest one dug by hand is 1097 meters deep. More than 22 million tons of rock were moved to the surface. and 3 tons of diamonds were mined. Development was completed in 1914.
Kennecott Quarry. Utah. The largest active open-pit mine in the world, copper mining began in 1863 and is still ongoing. Approximately a kilometer deep and 3.5 wide.
Diavik Quarry, Canada. Diamonds are mined. The quarry is located on the islands and has its own infrastructure with an airport capable of receiving passenger Boeings.
Great Blue Hole, Belize. Width 400 meters, depth 145 - 160 meters. A point of attraction for professional divers from all over the world.
Drain hole in the Monticello Dam reservoir. Serves to discharge excess water in the reservoir reservoir. A kind of safety valve.
Karst sinkhole in Guatemala. Caused by groundwater and rain. During the formation of the sinkhole, several people died and a dozen houses were destroyed.
The kimberlite pipe is the largest diamond quarry located in Yakutia. One fourth of all diamonds in the world are mined here.
The Mir quarry is one of the deepest on our planet.
The dimensions of the quarry in its upper diameter are 1200 m, the lower - 50 m. The depth of the Kimberlite pipe is 515m.
No helicopters fly over the quarry: this funnel is capable of sucking even aircrafts from space.
There is a legend in the national Yakut folklore that one day God got frostbite on his hand while flying over Yakutia in the very cold. From his frozen hands he dropped a bag of gifts, which scattered across the mountains, tundra and river valleys.
In 2001, diamond mining at the Kimberlite pipe was stopped - the Mir quarry became very deep and dangerous for workers. Now the Kimberlite Pipe is a local landmark. There are observation decks and a memorial sign here.
The last explosion over the quarry occurred in 2001. 41 thousand explosives and 100 thousand tons of diamond ore - these are the results of the final extraction.
“We lit a pipe of peace. “The tobacco is excellent,” this is how Soviet geologists reported to Moscow in 1955 in a secret radiogram about the discovery of the richest diamondiferous kimberlite pipe “Mir”. “We didn’t have a special code for this case,” recalled the head of the geological party, Yuri Khabardin. - And we composed the text in such a way that it was clear what we found - we “lit a pipe” and gave it a name - “Peace”. The phrase “excellent tobacco” spoke of the rich diamond content.”
This was a find of extreme importance. It was believed that the use of diamond tools doubled the economic potential of the state, and the USSR had been in need of industrial diamonds since the 1930s, after industrialization began in the country.
In February 1957, the first convoys began to arrive in the village of Mirny, which arose near the field. To get here, they had to overcome 2800 km of off-road terrain. The deserted region of Yakutia began to quickly become populated. Soon the first bucket of ore was mined from the Mir pipe, and already in the early 1960s, more than $1 billion worth of diamonds were mined in the USSR annually. The village of Mirny became the center of the Soviet diamond mining industry. Now it is a city with a population of 40 thousand people.
It is generally accepted that diamonds crystallized under enormous pressure deep in the bowels of the Earth - in the mantle, and were subsequently brought to the surface from a depth of 150–600 km. Kimberlite pipes are the channels left behind from such an outburst (kimberlite is the complex igneous rock that fills these channels). True, there are hypotheses suggesting that diamonds were not formed in the depths of the Earth, but at the moment they were released to the surface as a kind of “soot” from burning methane. But no matter what diamonds are - “methane soot” or “graphite stamping” - the enormous profitability of their extraction forces a person to dig into the depths of the earth, leaving traces comparable only to the result of the fall of a giant meteorite.
Kimberlite channels really resemble either a gigantic smoking pipe with a straight stem, or a giant martini glass - a cone on a thin stem that goes to great depths. Today, the outer diameter of the Mir mine pit is 1,200 m. Recently, huge trucks “wound” along a spiral road 8 km from the bottom to the surface, removing precious ore from a hole half a kilometer deep. Now open-pit mining has been stopped, and the mine is being mothballed for preparation of underground mining of deeper horizons - since it has been explored that the depth of diamonds in Mir exceeds a kilometer.
This is the largest diamond mining quarry on the planet, where the most complex problems of draining mineralized groundwater, so-called brines, typical of all Yakut deposits, have been successfully solved. The waters arrive at a speed of 3.5 thousand cubic meters per day, and would inevitably flood the mine if not for unique drainage technologies.
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